LIBRA-" OF CONGRESS. 






r-V A 

UNITED STATES OF A 



POPULAR TREATISE 



ON REGENERATION: 



FOUNDED ON 



JOHN, CH. Ill, V. 7. 



COMPRISING 



THE SUBSTANCE OF A SERIES OF PRACTICAL SER- 
MONS PREACHED BEFORE THE CHURCH OF 
GOD, IN THE CITY OF LANCASTER, 
IN THE YEAR 1842. 

J 

BY JOHN WINEBRENNER, V.D.M. 



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HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA : 

BOARD OF PUBLICATION, CHURCH OF GOD. 

DR. GEORGE ROSS. 

1878. 



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^1 



COPYRIGHTED, 1878. 

The Library 
of Congress 



WASHINGTON 



PEEFACE. 



The Practical Treatise on Regeneration, which is 
here presented to the public, embraces the sub- 
stance of a series of sermons preached before the 
Church of Q-od, in the city of Lancaster, in the 
year of our Lord 1842. 

A great deal has been written and published on 
this deeply interesting and important subject ; but 
the most of it either in connection with other sub- 
jects, or else in such voluminous forms as to pre- 
vent its general circulation among all classes of 
the community. 

Most of the writers, also, on regeneration, have 
failed to treat the subject in that regular, plain, 
and practical manner which we think highly nec- 
essary to secure general reading and utility. And, 
in addition to this, there are not a few of them 
who have greatly erred, and given out false and 
dangerous views in attempting to explain the sub- 
ject of the new birth. 

(vii) 



Vlll PREFACE. 

Besides, our own views on this important subject 
have been repeatedly and grossly misrepresented ; 
and by those, too, who are inexcusable for doing 
it, because they knew better, or, at least, were not 
without an opportunity of knowing better. 

This work, therefore, is designed for a threefold 
purpose, viz. : 

1. To rectify the errors and false views into 
which many have fallen by the perusal of unsound 
works, or the hearing of unscriptural teaching on 
the subject of regeneration. 

2. To set those right who have been misin- 
formed by unfriendly and designing men with re- 
gard to ourselves. And, 

3. To place into the hands of the public a plain 
and practical treatise on the new birth — a subject 
confessedly of vital importance to all ranks and 
conditions of men. 

We bespeak for it a careful, candid, and prayer- 
ful perusal on the part of all into whose hands it 
may chance to fall, hoping and praying most de- 
voutly that, under God, it may lead to, and result 
in, the happy and sound conversion of scores and 
multitudes of Adam's fallen and degenerate race. 

The Author. 



CONTENTS. 



SEEMON I. 

SHOWING WHAT REGENERATION IS NOT. 

Synopsis of Contents. — Introductory remarks, pages 13-18, 
General division of the work, 19. Mistaken views of re- 
generation, 20. Eegeneration not reformation, 20. Not 
orthodoxy, 21. Not baptism, 22. Baptismal regeneration 
held and taught by different denominations, 22-34. This 
dogma refuted, 35-37. Confirmation not the new birth, 
37-39. Closing remarks, 40. 



SEEMON II. 

SHOWING THE NATURE AND PROPERTIES OE REGENERATION. 

Synopsis. — What regeneration is, 41, 42. Various definitions 
of it, 42, 43. Where and how often the term occurs in the 
New Testament, 43, 44. The various features and proper- 
ties of this change, 44. The change is moral, 44, It is 
real, 45. It is great, 48. It is universal, 50. It is mani- 
fest, 51. It is speedy, 53. It is mysterious, 54. It is su- 
pernatural, 57. Address to Christians, 60. Address to the 
unregenerate, 61. 



CONTENTS. 



SEKMOJST III. 

SHOWING THE CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

Synopsis. — The moving cause, 63. The meritorious cause, 66. 
The efficient cause, negatively, not man, 69; nor the dis* 
cipline of circumstances, 70 ; but, positively, God, the 
Father, Son and Spirit, 71. The instrumental cause — the 
truth, or Word of God, 75. Proved from the Scriptures, 
75. The term water in John 3 : 5 explained, 75-79. Facts 
prove the "Word to be the instrumental cause, 79. The 
procuring cause, 80. The nature of repentance and faith 
explained, 81, 82. Both are antecedents, and not effects of 
regeneration, 83, 84. The whole subject reviewed, 85-87. 



SERMOK IV. 

SHOWING THE INCONCLUSIVE EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

Synopsis. — Meaning of inconclusive evidences, 88. Twenty-one 
such evidences stated, 88, 89. Special gifts no evidence of 
regeneration, 89. Great privileges no evidence, 91. Knowl- 
edge no evidence, 93. Church membership no evidence, 94. 
Morality no evidence, 95. Plain clothes no evidence, 96. 
A tranquil conscience no evidence, 97. Tender feelings no 
evidence, 99. Hatred to sin no evidence, 100. Delight in 
God's Word no evidence, 102. Prayer no evidence, 102. 
Keeping of the Sabbath no evidence, 104. Alms no evi- 
dence, 104. Observance of the ordinances no evidence, 105. 
Zeal in a good cause no evidence, 106. Success in a good 
cause no evidence, 107. Persecution no evidence, 108. 
Patience no evidence, 109. Keputation no evidence, 109. 
Hopes of heaven no evidence, 111. Willingness and desire 
to die no evidence, 112. Concluding remarks, 114. 



CONTENTS. XI 

SEKMOJST V, 

SHOWING THE CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

Synopsis. — Meaning of conclusive evidences, 115. Statement 
of these evidences, 115. Salvation from sin a conclusive 
evidence, 116. Brotherly love a conclusive evidence, 124. 
Love to enemies a conclusive evidence, 127. Delight in 
God a conclusive evidence, 130* The fruits of the Spirit a 
conclusive evidence, 132. Obedience to God a conclusive 
evidence, 134. Application, 137. 

SEBMCW VI. 

SHOWING THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION FROM THE 
SCRIPTURES. 

Synopsis. — The necessity of regeneration proven from three sets 
of passages, 138. First* Prom those which require the 
change, 139-142. Second. From those which show that 
all who are entitled to heaven have experienced the change, 
142-147. Third. Prom those which positively debar from 
heaven, and condemn to endless misery, all that live and 
die without change, 147-154. Application and improve- 
ment, 155-157. 

SEEMOST VII. 

SHOWING THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION FROM THE 
NATURE OF THINGS. 

Synopsis. — Prom the constitution and laws of nature, Similis 
simili gaudetj 158. Applied to man analogically, 160. 
Man, being carnal, cannot enjoy God and spiritual blessings 
in this world, 161. Death makes no change in the moral 
character, 164. Man's incapacity for heavenly enjoyments 
and employments, 165. Remarks and inferences, 168. 



SERMON I. 



SHOWING WHAT REGENERATION IS NOT. 



John 3 : 7. — " Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be 
born a^ain." 



"We gave notice last Sabbath that we intended 
to preach a series of sermons before the Church of 
God in this city, on the subject of regeneration or 
the new birth. This is confessedly a subject of deep 
and immeasurable importance ; and the sermons 
we propose to preach upon it will not fail, we hope, 
to engage the serious and close attention of the 
people of this city. We commence the proposed 
series this evening, and shall continue the same, 
deo volente, every Lord's day evening until it be 
completed. 

The text which we have chosen and read as the 
foundation of these discourses, clearly and ex- 
plicitly asserts and brings before us the doctrine 
of the new birth. 

In the preceding part of this chapter we have 
recorded a highly interesting colloquy between 
Jesus Christ and a man by the name of Xicode- 
mus. Xicodemus was one of the chief rulers 

2 (13) 



14 ON REGENERATION. 

among the Jews ; either one of the Sanhedrim or 
o;reat Council, or one of the rulers of their Syna- 
gogue, and no doubt one of those many who be- 
lieved on him (Christ), as John says, "but be- 
cause of the Pharisees they did not confess him, 
lest they should be put out of the Synagogue," and 
so lose the "praise of men," which, it would seem, 
they loved or esteemed more than the " praise of 
God." John 12 : 42. Hence we are informed that 
Mcodemus came to Jesus by night and said to 
him, " Rabbi, w T e know that thou art a teacher 
come from G-od," that is, we Jews, and especially 
we rulers of the Jews, we both know and be- 
lieve that thou art "a teacher come from God, for 
no man can do these miracles that thou doest, ex- 
cept God be with him" (verse 2). But mark! 
Jesus gives him and his fellow-officers no credit 
or commendation for their knowledge of the fact 
that he was the messenger of God, nor for their 
clandestine faith in him. Those who know the 
truth and believe it, ought to avow their faith and 
so let their light shine before men, or else they 
become the more guilty before God. This sin lies 
at the door of many now as well as anciently. 
There are thousands in this and other cities who 
know and believe the Bible to be the word of God, 
Jesus to be the Christ, etfc., and yet they will not 
come out and confess Christ, and obey the Bible. 
It had been better for such not to have known the 
way of righteousness, than after they have known 
it not to walk therein. Yet, notwithstanding man's 



ON REGENERATION. 15 

sinfulness and ill-desert, Christ came to save him 
and not to condemn him. And in order to save 
him he must first teach him the things pertaining 
to the kingdom of God. One of the chief and 
fundamental doctrines pertaining to the kingdom 
of God, or the Christian religion, is the doctrine 
of regeneration. This weighty matter of Chris- 
tianity, therefore, Christ, the great Teacher, come 
from God, gave to his night scholar, Nicodemus, 
for his first lesson. Without any circumlocution, 
or tedious exordium, he introduces at once the 
main subject which he wishes to inculcate, and 
says to him, " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except 
a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom 
of God." 

This is one of the most sententious passages in 
the Bible. Every word seems to be emphatic. 
Allow me to dissect it, and briefly explain it. 

Verily, verily ; that is, amen, truly, certainly, so 
be it. The word comes from the Hebrew amen, 
and signifies truly, certainly, and without fail. It 
is used by the people of God as a ratification of 
their prayers, and testimony of their desires to be 
heard: Jer. 11 : 5 ; 1 Cor. 14: 16. When it is re- 
peated or double, as here and elsewhere, by the 
great Prophet, it amounts to a vehement assevera- 
tion or strong confirmation of the thing asserted : 
as if Christ had said, Mcodemus, thou mayest 
fully rely on the truth and certainty of what I say, 
for truly, certainly, and assuredly, it is so ; except 
a person is made a new creature, he can never 



16 ON REGENERATION. 

enter into the New Jerusalem. All God's sayings 
are equally true and certain ; but to some there is 
affixed a special note of certainty, because of their 
extraordinary weight and man's infidelity. All 
orders and warrants of kings have not their seals 
annexed, but those that are of the greatest weight. 

I say to thee ; I, who am the Prophet of my 
church, the Teacher sent from God, the true and 
faithful witness, for whom it is impossible to lie, I 
deliver to thee this doctrine as a certain unques- 
tionable truth, that, unless thou hast a new being, 
it had been better for thee to have had no being, 
for thou canst never see the kingdom of God. 

Except a man ; that is, a person, or every man. 
The proposition is indefinite, and so equivalent to 
one that is universal. Except, therefore, any and 
every man that is born of the flesh, let him be 
young or old, rich or poor, black or white, bond 
or free, learned or unlearned, Jew or Gentile, if he 
is not born again of the Spirit, he can never see 
the kingdom of God. 

Be born again ; that is, be renewed, or turned 
from nature to grace, or changed from a carnal to 
a spiritual state, and so become a new creature in 
Christ Jesus. 

On this subject I shall speak more at length and 
with more precision, when I come to treat of the 
nature of the new birth in its appropriate place. 

He cannot see ; that is, enjoy. Vision in Scrip- 
ture is frequently put for fruition. Videre est frui. 
Ps. 34: 12 ; Matt. 5:8; Heb. 12 : 14. 



ON REGENERATION. 17 

The kingdom of God ; God's kingdom is two- 
fold, viz. : 

1. The kingdom of grace here ; and — 

2. The kingdom of glory hereafter. 

1. The kingdom of God here is the Messiah's 
reign of grace on the earth, with the privileges and 
blessings thereof. " Matt. 6 : 33 : Seek ye first the 
kingdom of God. Luke 17 : 21 : Behold, the king- 
dom of God is within you. Matt. 21 : 43 : The 
kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given 
to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." See 
also Matt. 11:12; 13:33; 16:19; 23:13; Eom. 
14:17. 

2. The kingdom of God hereafter is that g-lori- 
ous and everlasting state of blessedness in the 
world to come, which God has prepared for and 
promised to his people. See Matt. 9 : 47 ; 25 : 34 ; 
Luke 13:28, 29; Acts 24:22; 1 Cor. 6:9, 10; 
Gal. 5 : 21 ; Eph. 5:5; 1 Thess. 2:12. 

Now, except a man be born again, he can have no 
qualification for, and no right to, the privileges of 
the kingdom of grace, nor to the possession of the 
kingdom of glory. 

This important doctrine, or great truth, being 
thus solemnly asserted by Christ, greatly aston- 
ished Mcodemus, the Jewish ruler, and he ex- 
claims, " How can a man be born when he is old?" 
As man by wisdom knows not God, so neither by 
wisdom does he understand " the ways and works 
of God." Here is " a master in Israel" who can- 
not understand the teaching of the Master from 



18 ON REGENERATION. 

heaven. When this divine Teacher speaks of heav- 
enly and spiritual things, he understands him to 
mean earthly and carnal things ! How true it is, 
that the natural man perceives not the things of 
the Spirit of God ! No matter how talented and 
learned a man may be, the work of grace is an 
unintelligible mystery, yea, and foolishness to him, 
until he himself is made spiritual by a spiritual 
birth. Then, and not till then, are they fully dis- 
cerned. 

But our Lord does not waive the subject, or 
change the lesson, because of the dulness of his 
pupil, but takes occasion to repeat and confirm 
what he had said, and to show more clearly the na- 
ture, the causes, and the necessity of the new birth. 
"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man 
be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter 
into the kingdom of God. That which is born of 
the flesh, is flesh ; and that which is born of the 
Spirit, is spirit ;" verses 5 and 6. Having said thus 
much touching the nature and causes of the great 
work of regeneration, he proceeded to reassert its 
absolute and indispensable necessity in the words 
, of the text : 

" Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be 
born again." 

This paraphrase of the preceding context may 
serve as an introduction to the general subject of 
regeneration, or the new birth, which we shall now 
proceed more fully to open and discuss. 



ON REGENERATION. 19 

In the discussion of this subject we shall observe 
the following order: 

I. We shall show the nature of regeneration, or 
the new birth. 

II. We shall show the causes of regeneration, or the 
agencies and instrumentalities by which it is effected. 

III. We shall point out the evidences or marks of 
regeneration, or the new birth. 

IV. We shall show the absolute and indispensable 
necessity of this great change or work of grace called 
regeneration, or the new birth, in order to salvation. 

And now " my heart's desire and prayer to God 
is/' that he may mercifully vouchsafe to me 
"the spirit of wisdom" and "of a sound mind," 
that I may avoid " handling the word of God de- 
ceitfully, but, by manifestation of the truth, com- 
mend" this grave and deeply solemn subject "to 
every man's conscience in the sight of God." 

Resuming, then, the order proposed, we shall 
endeavor — 

I. To show the nature of regeneration. And in 
doing so we shall consider it, first, negatively, and 
then positively. We shall show — 

1st. Negatively, what regeneration, or the new 
birth, is not ; and — 

2d. Positively, what it is. 

1. We shall show, negatively, what regeneration 
is not. On no subject has the word of God been 
more grossly corrupted than on the subject of the 
new birth. Many have held and taken that for 
regeneration, which in reality is not regeneration. 



20 ON REGENERATION. 

To correct some of the palpable perversions and 
misunderstandings in regard to this subject, as 
held and propagated by many theologians and com- 
mentators, and by various sects and denomina- 
tions, shall, next in order, occupy our attention, 
and form the closing remarks of our first sermon 
on this weighty subject. Regeneration, then, is 
not — 

1. Reformation. 

2. Orthodox]/. 
8. Baptism. 

4. Confirmation. 

1. Reformation, or amendment of life, is not re- 
generation. Many suppose themselves regenerated, 
because they have partially reformed their lives. 
But this is, manifestly, a false and mistaken view 
of the subject. Reformation is rather an effect or 
consequence of regeneration, and not regeneration 
itself. A man cannot be regenerated without being 
reformed, but he may be partially reformed with-, 
out being regenerated. 

Morality, and a profession of religion, may 
cleanse the outside of the " cup and platter," or 
" garnish the sepulchre ;" but to change the heart 
requires a divine power. 

Many of the old Scribes and Pharisees had kept 
the commandments, like the young ruler, from 
youth up ; and, like Paul, touching the law, they 
were blameless; but still, they were far from being 
born again. And hence Christ asked them the 



ON REGENERATION. 21 

question, "How can ye escape the damnation of 
hell?" Matt. 23:33. 

Many, nowadays, also have been moral from 
youth up ; others have reformed their vicious lives, 
and have taken up the profession of religion ; and 
so far as their manner of life is concerned, no great 
objections can be found against them, but as to the 
work of regeneration, or a change of heart, they 
are both ignorant and destitute of it. And some- 
times these deluded moralists and nominal pro- 
fessors of religion, are found to be the greatest 
enemies to revivals, or a genuine work of grace. 
It is no unusual thing for them to repudiate the 
religion of the heart, as fanaticism or wild-fire. 
Surely then, we need no further evidence of the 
fact, that morality, amendment, or reformation of 
life, is not regeneration. But, 

2. Orthodoxy is not regeneration. By orthodoxy, 
we mean soundness in doctrine. However impor- 
tant and desirable it may be to be sound in the 
faith ; yet, let no one be so silly as to believe him- 
self regenerated, because, forsooth, he is orthodox. 
Orthodoxy and regeneration are totally diverse, 
and without affinity. A man may have a sound 
head, and, at the same time, a very bad heart. He 
may have a good deal of religion in his creed, or 
confession of faith, and yet none in his heart. 
Devils, for aught we know to the contrary, are all 
orthodox, but they are devils still. 

The ministers of religion, therefore, ought to 
preach and labor, not merely to instruct and regu- 



22 ON REGENERATION. 

late the head, but likewise to better the heart, and 
amend the life. For, though a man have all faith, 
and have not charity, he is nothing. 1 Cor. 13 : 2. 

3. Baptism is not regeneration. Baptism is an 
important Christian duty ; but it does not pertain 
to sinners, and of course will not regenerate, or 
make sinners Christians. The doctrine of bap- 
tismal regeneration, as it is called, I conceive to be 
an egregious and dangerous error. The moral 
tendency of this insidious dogma is so palpably 
hurtful and ruinous, that it deserves a thorough 
and unsparing refutation. 

But are there any, and if any, who are those 
that hold this erroneous doctrine? I answer, 
There are those who hold and teach the doctrine 
of baptismal regeneration explicitly — others implic- 
itly. I shall here, therefore, attempt to show : 

1. Who those are that hold and teach the doc- 
trine of " baptismal regeneration" explicitly. 

2. Who those are that hold and teach it implic- 
itly ; and 

3. That the doctrine of baptismal regeneration is 
both unscriptural and anti-scriptural. 

1. There are those who hold and teach the doc- 
trine of baptismal regeneration explicitly: That is 
to say, they believe and assert, that persons are 
regenerated, or born again, by baptism — that it 
does, de facto, or literally, take place at that time 
and in that act. Among these we reckon. 

1. The Roman Catholics. 

2. The Episcopalians. 



ON REGENERATION. 23 

3. The Lutherans. 

4. The Dunkers, or German Baptists. 

5. The Disciples. 

Now, let a few extracts from their writings be 
adduced, in evidence of what we affirm. 

1. "We say the Roman Catholics hold the dogma 
of baptismal regeneration. 

" Baptism may be accurately and appropriately 
defined, The sacrament of regeneration by water 
in the word." See Catechism of the Council of 
Trent. 

" Baptism is a spiritual regeneration, by which 
we are born again, children of God." Ibidem. 

" Perfect conversion consists in regeneration, 
by baptism." Ibid. 

" Infants, unless baptized, cannot enter into 
heaven." Ibid. 

u What is Baptism? It is the first Christian 
sacrament, whereby we are freed from original 
and actual sin, re-born children of God, heirs of 
heaven, and members of Christ's church." See 
Poor Man's Catechism, p. 195. 

" By our first birth, we are born in sin, children 
of wrath ; by baptism we are born again, and be- 
come the adopted children of God : by our first 
birth we are born to eternal misery ; by our sec- 
ond we are born to eternal life ; for if sons of God, 
we are also heirs of heaven ; for which reason bap- 
tism is called regeneration, because by it we are 
born again of God : John 3 : 5." Ibid. 

"By baptism I have been delivered from the 



24 ON REGENERATION. 

power of darkness and translated into the king- 
dom of thy beloved Son : by baptism I have been 
cleansed from the stain of that sin in which I was 
born : by baptism I have been made a member of 
the body of Jesus Christ." See Catholic Manual, 
p. 393. 

" By baptism we are spiritually born again." 
See He Pasa Ecclesia, p. 137. 

" Catholics believe that by the sacrament of 
baptism we are cleansed from sin, as well original 
as actual, and made members of the church of 
Christ, adopted children of God, and heirs to the 
kingdom of heaven." Ibid. p. 138. 

2. The Episcopalians hold the doctrine under 
consideration. 

" Baptism is not only a sign of profession, and 
mark of difference, whereby Christian men are 
discerned from others that be not christened : but 
it is also a sign of regeneration, or the new birth, 
whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive 
baptism rightly, are grafted into the church ; the 
promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our 
adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, 
are visibly signed and sealed ; faith .is confirmed, 
and grace increased by virtue of prayer to God." 
See 3D Articles of P. E. Church. 

" We call upon thee for this infant, that he, 
coming to thy holy baptism, may receive remis- 
sion of his sins by spiritual regeneration." See 
Liturgy P. E. C, Form of Baptism. 



ON REGENERATION, 25 

"Question. How many sacraments hath. Christ 
ordained in his church ? 

"Answer. Two only, as generally necessary to 
salvation ; that is to say, baptism and the supper 
of the Lord. 

U Q. How many parts are there in a sacrament? 

" A. Two ; the outward visible sign, and the in- 
ward spiritual grace. 

" Q- What is the inward and spiritual grace ? 

" J_. A death unto sin, and a new birth unto right- 
eousness : for being, by nature, born in sin, and the 
children of wrath, we are hereby made the chil- 
dren of grace." See Catechism — Ibid. 

" Q. What is your name ? 

"A. K or M. 

" Q. Who gave you this name ? 

64 A. My sponsors in baptism ; wherein I was 
made a member of Christ, the child of God, and 
an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven," Ibid. 

" The Churchman," a religious paper published 
in the city of New York, asserts the doctrine of 
baptismal regeneration in the following open and 
strong terms: — 

" We hold the doctrine of baptismal regenera- 
tion. The baptized infant is, with us, a member 
of Christ, a child of God, an inheritor of the 
kingdom of heaven ? And this he is made by a 
sacrament — a mysterious and inscrutable means 
of conveying God's grace, the regenerating influ- 
ence of the Holy Spirit. And is no figure, no met- 
aphor embodied in action ; no type, no bare sym- 



26 ON REGENERATION. 

bol, no signifying that which may be or may be 
not; no Jewish sacrament, as Timothy Dwight 
would make it, but a saving ordinance, a reality 
tenfold more real than any phenomenon that is 
presented to us in type, or yet in space." 

3. The Lutherans, also, maintain the doctrine 
of baptismal regeneration. 

The following quotations from a few of their 
standard works will furnish ample proof of this 
fact. 

" By the word sacraments is understood, in the 
Lutheran Church, those religious rites and cere- 
monies w T hich God himself has instituted in the 
Holy Scriptures, by which certain spiritual bless- 
ings are represented and actually communicated. 
They serve not only to exhibit or represent to the 
senses the spiritual blessings which flow from God 
and Christ, but actually to communicate them. 
In the sense of the Lutheran Church every sacra- 
ment has two parts, the visible. and invisible; the 
visible part in baptism is water, and the invisible 
is the Holy Ghost. Some spiritual blessing is actu- 
ally communicated ! The Holy Ghost is imparted 
in baptism, and accompanied by his influences and 
operations ! Because, in Acts 2 : 38, it is expressly 
said, Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
Baptism is the means of regeneration, because the 
water and the Spirit are connected in effecting the 
new birth. The Holy Ghost is the cause, baptism 
by which he operates the means, and regeneration 
the effect." See Prof. Knapp's Lectures on Chris- 



ON REGENERATION. 27 

tian Theology, as reported in the Lutheran Herald, 
Vol. Ill, No. 6. 

" Baptism is considered by the Lutheran Church 
as the washing of regeneration; thus Paul calls it: 
Tit. 3 : 5. We therefore find that in the primitive 
church baptism and regeneration were used as sy- 
nonymous terms. Thus in Christian baptism, al- 
though we are by nature born in sin, and of sinful 
parents, yet in baptism God condescends in mercy 
for Christ's sake to adopt us as his children, and 
to take us under his particular care." See His- 
tory, Doctrine, and Discipline of the Lutheran 
Church, by Geo. Lochman, D.D., page 102. 

" Q- What are the benefits of baptism? 

" A. It causes the forgiveness of sin, redeems 
from death and the devil, and gives everlasting 
salvation to those that believe, as the Word and 
promise of God declare." See Luther's Smaller 
Catechism. 

u Baptism is represented as a means of re- 
generation ; it is termed the " washing of regen- 
eration ;" and yet it is admitted that regener- 
ation is effected by the Holy Spirit through the 
means. 

"Baptism is in strong and explicit terms repre- 
sented as a means to attain the pardon of sin ; and 
it is not reasonable to suppose that an ordinance, 
which when faithfully attended to exerts so im- 
portant an influence on the relations of its subject 
to his God, should make no other impression on 
the soul of the sinner himself than what results 



28 ON REGENERATION. 

from the mere efficacy of the truths exhibited by 
it." 

" The agency of the Spirit is distinctly associ- 
ated with baptism by the Saviour himself. John 
3:5; Titus 3 : 5." See Smucker's Theology, p. 
226. 

"Divines of the Lutheran Church have always 
contended for the baptism of believers only ; that 
is, that in baptism faith is actually conveyed and 
imparted to the soul of the infant, and that it is 
thereby as a means, regenerated and born again." 
See Lutheran Herald, Vol. Ill, Ifo. 6. 

4. The Dunkers, or German Baptists, hold iden- 
tically the same opinion. 

That the Dunkers, or German Baptists, hold the 
doctrine that baptism and regeneration are identi- 
cal, their standard works and their preaching 
clearly and incontrovertibly show. I have no 
works of theirs at hand just now to make any 
quotations from, nor do I consider it particularly 
necessary, as the fact is pretty generally known, 
and will not, I presume, be denied on their part. ' 
Yet I may add, in justice to some of them, that 
the erroneous dogma is not entertained by all of 
them. 

5. The Disciples, or Reformed Baptists, as some 
call them, hold and teach the doctrine of baptis- 
mal regeneration. 

"But one thing we do know, that none can ra- 
tionally, and with certainty, enjoy the peace of 
God, and the hope of heaven, but they who intel- 



ON REGENERATION. 29 

ligently and in full faith are born of water, or im- 
mersed for the remission of their sins." 

" There are three births : one from the womb 
of our first mother, one from the water, and one 
from the grave. We enter a new world on, and 
pot before, each birth." 

" Marvel not that I say to you, you must be born 
again. Pious as you are supposed to be, and as 
you may think yourself to be, unless you are born 
again you cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 
Cornelius and his family were as devout and pious 
as any of you. 'He feared GTod, and gave much 
alms to the people, and prayed to God continu- 
ally.' Yet, mark it well, I beseech you, it was 
necessary - to tell him words,' by which himself 
and his house ' might be saved.' These words 
were told him ; he believed them, and received 
the Holy Spirit ; yet still he must be born again. 
For a person cannot be said to be born again of 
anything which he receives ; and still less of 
miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. He was im- 
mersed, and into the kingdom of God he came. 
He was then saved." 

44 Are we not then warranted to say, except a 
man be regenerated of water and of the Spirit, he 
cannot enter into the kingdom of God ? And that 
all who believing are immersed for the remission 
of their sins, have the remission of their sins 
in and through immersion ! " See Christianity 
Restored, p. 239, 240, 243, and 245. 

2. There are others, who hold the doctrine of 

3 



30 ON REGENERATION. 

baptismal regeneration implicitly ; that is, by im- 
plication, or obscure involution ; or as it were, 
inadvertently and by .mistake. Among these we 
reckon : 

1. The Presbyterians. 

2. The Methodists. • 

3. The Associate Eeformed. 

4. The German Eeformed. 

5. The Dutch Reformed. 

6. The Congregationalists, etc. 

This opinion will be fully sustained by a few ex- 
tracts from their creeds and principal authors. 

1. The Presbyterians hold and teach this doc- 
trine by implication. In a work published by 
authority of the General Assembly, entitled, " The 
Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the 
United jStates of America, containing the Confes- 
sion of Faith, etc.," in the twenty-eighth chapter, 
and sixth section, we meet with these words : 

" The efficacy of baptism is not tied to that 
moment of time wherein it is administered ; yet 
notwithstanding, by the right use of the ordi- 
nance, the grace promised is not only offered, but 
really exhibited and conferred by the Holy Ghost, 
to such (whether of age or infants) as that grace 
belongeth unto, according to the counsel of God's 
own will, in his appointed time." And in proof of 
this position, as if to show that " God's appointed 
time" is the very time of baptism, the same au- 
thority cites Gal. 3 : 27 : " For as many of you 
as have been baptized into Christ, have put on 



ON REGENERATION. 31 

Christ; "and Epli. 5:25, 26: " Christ also loved' 
the Church, and gave himself for it; that he 
might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of 
water by the word ; " and Acts 2 : 38 : " Be bap- 
tized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, 
'for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the 
gift of the Holy Ghost.'' 

Yv T ho does not, on careful examination, perceive 
in this artful and insidious dogma, every limb and 
feature of the doctrine of baptismal regeneration? 
Xote the words carefully. 

The Confession of Faith confines the "efficacy" 
of baptism to those to whom " that grace belong- 
ed! unto ; " i. e. the elect, who alone, it seems, are 
susceptible of its impressions. 

This efficacy " is not tied to that moment wherein 
it is administered," but may commence, in some 
instances, the next moment, or even later ; or in- 
stead of stopping with that moment, may run on 
through several moments, or even hours, days, 
weeks, months, or possibly years, succeeding ; and 
to them the "efficacy of baptism," or the grace 
promised, is not only offered, but " really exhibited 
and conferred." 

In the 5th section, there is a passage equally in- 
sidious and dangerous : " Grace and salvation are 
not so inseparably annexed unto it, as that no per- 
son can be regenerated or saved without it, or that 
all that are baptized, are undoubtedly regenera- 
ted." Thus to make baptism absolutely essential 
to salvation in all ordinary cases, it is only neces- 



32 ON REGENERATION. 

sary to make the possible exceptions refer to per- 
sons who cannot obtain baptism, and to the non- 
elect who cannot be reached by it. 

The same book teaches, expressly, that baptism 
is " ordained by Jesus Christ, for the solemn ad- 
mission of the party baptized into the visible 
church," and declares, that it is not to be adminis- 
tered, in any case, by any private person, but by a 
minister of Christ called to be the steward of the 
" mysteries of God." Again, baptism is declared to 
be " a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, and 
of ingrafting into Christ." 

Besides, we are told (ch. 25), that out of the 
" visible church " 4 ' there is no ordinary possibility 
of salvation." 

The following syllogism will exhibit the sum 
total or true import of this last paragraph : 

" Baptism is the solemn admission of the party 
baptized into the visible church." 

" Out of the visible church there is no ordinary 
possibility of salvation." 

Therefore, the unbaptized are not in the church/ 
and cannot be saved. 

If this does not imply the doctrine of baptismal 
regeneration, then I am at a loss to know what 
does imply it, or how to frame language that will 
imply it without expressing it. 

2. Some of the Methodist writers have ex- 
pressed themselves to the same effect. For in- 
stance, 

John Wesley says : " The first benefit we receive 



ON REGENERATION. 33 

by baptism, is the washing away of the guilt of 
original sin. Infants need to be washed from 
original sin, therefore, they are proper subjects of 
baptism ; seeing in the ordinary way, they cannot 
be saved, unless this be washed away by baptism." 
And again, " By baptism, we who are by nature 
children of wrath, are made the children of God. 
By water, then, as a mean, the water of baptism, 
w r e are regenerated or born again." See Wesley's 
Treatise on Baptism. 

" Baptism when administered to real penitents, 
is both a means and seal of pardon ; nor did God, 
ordinarily, in the primitive church, bestow this 
(pardon) on any, unless through this means." 
John Wesley's Note on Acts 22: 16. 

Richard Watson says : " Baptism is, both as to 
infants and to adults, the sign and pledge of that 
inward grace, which, although modified in its 
operations by the difference of their circumstances, 
has respect to, and flows from, a covenant rela- 
tion to each of the three Persons in whose one 
name they are baptized : acceptance by the Father, 
union with Christ, as the head of his mystical 
body, the church, and the communion of the Holy 
Ghost." 

" Baptism as an act of faith, is, in fact, expressly 
made, not a figure of the effects which follow, as 
stated Rom. 6:4, 5, but the means of effecting 
them. Know ye not that so many of us as were 
baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his 
death ; we enter by this means into the experience 



34 ON REGENERATION. 

of its efficacy in effecting a mystical death in us ; 
in other words, we die with him, or as it is ex- 
pressed in verse 6th, " our old man is crucified 
with him." 

" Still farther, by baptism, dca r& j3a-rtcr t uaTos, 
througli or by means of baptism, we are buried 
with him ; we not only die to sin and the world , but 
we are separated wholly from it, as the body of 
Christ was separated from the living world when 
laid in the sepulchre. ITor is this all, we also mysti- 
cally rise with him ; that like as Christ was raised 
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so 
we also should walk in newness of life, having 
new connections, new habits, new enjoyments and 
new hopes." 

" We have a similar passage in Col. 2 : 12, and 
it has a similar interpretation. Here too, all these 
three effects are attributed to baptism as the means. 
"We put off the body of sins, 'by the circum- 
cision of Christ,' that is, as we have seen, by Chris- 
tian circumcision or baptism ; we are buried with 
him by baptism ; ev being obviously used here, 
flea, to denote the instrument ; and by baptism we 
rise with him into a new life." Vide Watson's 
Institutes, p. 440 and 444. 

If these authors are to be regarded as speaking 
the real sentiments of the Methodist Church, then 
they are rather to be identified with the Catho- 
lics and Episcopalians on the subject in review 
than with the Presbyterians and Reformed. But 
doubtless these writers have expressed themselves 



ON REGENERATION. 35 

much stronger on this point of doctrine than a 
majority of them, perhaps, would be willing to 
indorse. 

The same views identically are held and taught 
by the Associate Reformed Church, and nearly 
the same by the German Reformed, Dutch Re- 
formed, and the Congregationalist,.so that we need 
not particularize in relation to any of them. 

3. We propose to show that the doctrine of 
baptismal regeneration is both unscriptural and 
antiscriptural. 

1. This doctrine we say is unscriptural. By 
this we mean that it is unsupported and indefen- 
sible by the Scriptures or the Word of God. There 
are a few passages brought forward in support of 
the theory we are opposing, which it may be 
proper briefly to notice. 

The first and the principal text which is relied 
on as proof of the doctrine is the following: 
" !Xot by works of righteousness which we have 
done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by 
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the 
Holy Ghost." Tit. 3 : 5. 

Xow let this passage be compared with 1 Pet. 
1 : 23, and read in connection with the verse im- 
mediately following, and it will be seen that the 
phrase, " washing of regeneration," does not mean 
baptism, but the Gospel, or Word of God. 

Again, the fifth verse of the third chapter of 
the Gospel by John is also adduced in evidence of 
this doctrine. " Verily, verily, I say unto thee 5 



36 ON REGENERATION. 

Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, 
lie cannot enter into the kingdom of God/"' 

This passage is only explained correctly by an 
interpretation analogous to the former. The word 
"w^ater" does not mean baptism, nor the tears of 
penitents, but the truth of God. The correctness 
of this interpretation we shall endeavor more fully 
to establish when we come to speak of the means 
of regeneration. 

2. The doctrine under consideration is antiscrip- 
tural. By this we mean to say, that it is against 
or contrary to the Scriptures. The Scriptures uni- 
versally teach us that man is renewed or born 
again by the Spirit and truth of God. The 
Spirit is the great agent, and the truth, or Word 
of God, is the instrument of regeneration. See 
James 1 : 18 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 23, But this point is at 
once placed beyond all reasonable debate by the 
following declarations of Paul. " I thank God 
that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and 
Gaius. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to, 
preach the Gospel." 1 Cor. 1: 14 and 17. Now, 
nothing is more certain than that if baptism in- 
sures or proves regeneration, Paul would never 
have thanked God that he had baptized none of 
the Corinthians saveGaius, Crispus, and the house- 
hold of Stephanus. 

Again, faith in Jesus Christ, and not baptism, 
was always insisted on by the apostles and first 
ministers of religion as the primary and appointed 



ON REGENERATION. 37 

means of regeneration. See John 1 : 14, 15 ; 1 
John 5 : 1. 

Besides we read of some that were doubtless 
converted or born again before they were bap- 
tized. See Acts 10:43-48. Consequently bap- 
tism could not have been the means of regenera- 
tion in their case. Now what is true of Cornelius 
and his friends was, no doubt, equally so with re- 
gard to all the primitive Christians ; they were all 
converted first, and then baptized in the name of 
the Lord. Acts 8:37; 18:8. 

On the other hand thousands have been regu- 
larly baptized by authorized ministers in modern 
times, whose after lives proved, beyond a doubt, 
that instead of being regenerated they were still 
like Simon Magus, " in the gall of bitterness, and 
in the bond of iniquity." Acts 8 : 23. And who 
does not know that thousands of thousands of 
christened youths at the present day demonstrate 
by their ungodly lives, that instead of being born 
again, and on the way to heaven, they are carnal, 
sold under sin, and on the way to hell. 

Thus, in every point of view, the doctrine of 
baptismal regeneration ; that is to say, that bap- 
tism is the means of regeneration; that it insures 
or proves it ; that it is attended or followed by it, 
is erroneous and unfounded, unscriptural and anti- 
scriptural. 

In conclusion, for the present, and on this part 
of the subject, we remark that regeneration is, 

4thly. Not confirmation. Confirmation is a re- 

4 



38 ON REGENERATION. 

ligious rite observed by the Catholic, Episcopa- 
lian, Lutheran, German Eeforraecl, and Moravian 
churches, by which, as they say, persons baptized 
in infancy renew their baptismal covenant and are 
received into full communion with the Church. 
This ceremony is held to be " an effectual means 
of grace," or a means of perfecting a regenerate 
state. 

" The Catholic Church, instructed by the solici- 
tude of the apostles to strengthen the faith of 
those her children who had received it in baptism, 
and by the lessons of Christ himself, concerning 
the importance of receiving that Holy Spirit which 
is communicated in this sacrament, religiously 
retains and faithfully administers it to them for 
the selfsame purpose through all ages. In a word, 
those who are true Christians by virtue of bap- 
tism are not made perfect Christians, except by 
virtue of the sacrament of confirmation." (Vide 
" Religious Controversy," by J. Milnor, D.D., page 
121.) 

" Catholics believe that through the sacrament 
of confirmation they receive the Holy Ghost to 
enable them to overcome temptations to sin, and 
to suffer persecution for the name of Christ. It is 
administered by the imposition of hands, with 
prayer, and the unction of the forehead with the 
holy chrism, accompanied by the words, ' I sign thee 
with the sign of the cross, and confirm thee with 
the chrism of salvation, in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.' Cpnfir- 



ON REGENERATION. 39 

ination completes what was begun in baptism. 
In baptism we enrol ourselves under the banners 
of Christ ; in confirmation we receive strength to 
fight with courage the battles of our leader." 
(Vide He Pasa Ecclesia, pages 138 and 139.) 

" What is confirmation? 

" It is a sacrament in which by the imposition 
of the bishop's hands we receive the Holy Ghost, 
in order to make us strong and perfect Christians, 
soldiers of Jesus Christ." See Catbolic Cate- 
chism. 

From these few quotations it will be seen that 
confirmation, in the view of some, is " an effectual 
means of grace," and that none can be made per- 
fect Christians except by virtue of the sacrament 
of confirmation. 

Now that this is an error, and one of no small 
magnitude, will appear very obvious to all if we 
consider — 

1st. That it is a bare assertion, unsupported by 
any scriptural authority ; and — 

2d. That it is flatly contradicted by the united 
testimony of all ages. 

My dear hearers, as I long after you all in the 
bowels of Jesus Christ, I charge you before God, 
and entreat in the name of Immanuel, to examine 
this weighty subject carefully, and do not suffer 
yourselves to be gulled, and cheated, and deceived, 
by blind guides and corrupt systems of religion. 
You have heard what great blunders, hurtful 
heresies, and fatal errors many have fallen into 



40 ON REGENERATION. 

with regard to the new birth. Some hold it to be 
reformation, some orthodoxy, some baptism, and 
others confirmation, or something else equally 
erroneous and unscriptural. 

"What is this but holding the truth in unright- 
eousness ? What ! but a bewitching of the people, 
that they should not know and obey the truth ? 
What ! but preaching another Gospel ? What ! but 
a play of good words and fair speeches to deceive 
the hearts of the simple? 

beware, I beseech you, of following such cun- 
ningly-devised fables. Beware of imbibing such 
pernicious doctrines and commandments of men. 
Hear, pray, and study to show yourselves ap- 
proved ; knowing, enjoying, and walking in all 
the right ways of the Lord. Then may you hope 
to live and die happy, and gain an entrance into 
God's everlasting kingdom. 



NATURE OF REGENERATION. 41 



SERMON II. 

SHOWING WHAT REGENERATION IS. 

John 3 : 7. — " Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born 

again. " 

In the preceding discourse we attempted to 
show what regeneration is not ; in this we shall 
try to point out what it is. 

Regeneration is a thorough change of man's de- 
praved moral nature, after the image of God. 

By the moral nature of man, we mean his natu- 
ral disposition, or spirit of mind. 

By his depraved nature we understand a natu- 
ral propensity to evil. 

And by the image of God is meant a conform- 
ity or resemblance to God in his moral perfections, 
especially in his righteousness and holiness. 

]Sow as man by the fall lost both the favor and 
the image of God, there is a twofold change nec- 
essary in order to his salvation, viz. : 

1. A change of state : and, 

2. A change of nature. 

1. A change of state or condition is requisite in 
all that would be saved. The bondman must be 
made a freeman. The alien must become a citi- 



42 NATURE OF REGENERATION. 

zen. The enemy must become a friend, etc. See 
John 8:36; Eph. 2:12, 19; Rom. 5:10; 1 Pet. 
2:9,10. 

2. Man's nature must be changed. The lion 
must become a lamb. The vulture a dove. The 
corrupt tree a good tree. The wild olive tree a 
good olive tree. See John 10 : 2d, 27 ; Matt. 7 ; 17, 
18; Rom. 11:17,24. 

The former change is relative ; this is real. The 
former is wrought in justification, the latter in 
regeneration. 

Regeneration then, we say, is a radical change 
of man's depraved moral nature. This, and 
nothing else — this, and nothing short of this — is 
true evangelical regeneration.* 

* Various definitions have been given of regeneration by dif- 
ferent theological writers. 

Dwight defines regeneration to be U A relish for spiritual 
objects." See his Theology, vol. iii, page 418. 

Brown says it is u God's implantation of holy principles in 
our heart.' 7 See his Divinity, page 405. 

Baxter says it is, " Nature's reparation, elevation, and per- 
fection." 

Helfenstein says it is, " The restoration of God's image to 
the soul." See his Theology, page 306. 

Finney defines it to be, "A voluntary change in the gov- 
erning preference of the mind, or a change of choice." See 
his Sermons, page 16. 

Campbell says, lt Kegeneration literally indicates the whole 
process of renovating or new-creating man." See Christianity 
Restored, page 271. 

Wm. Law: lt Regeneration consists solely in the restoration 
of the birth of the Son of God in the human soul." See Law's 
Words, page 51. 



NATURE OF REGENERATION. 43 

The word regeneration is formed by joining the 
the prefix re to the word generation. The term 
generation is often used in Scripture to denote a 
race of men, or the people of a given age ; but it 
is also used to signify the creation of things. See 
Eccl. 1:4; Matt. 1:17; Gen. 2 : 4. 

Hence regeneration means to change, renew, 
renovate, or new-create that which was generated 
or made. 

The word regeneration occurs but twice in the 
New Testament, viz. : in Matt. 19 : 28, and in 
Titus 3:5. In the first text it means a change or 
renewal in the state of things ; and in the latter a 
change or renewal in the moral state and nature 
of man. "When Christ says, " Ye who have fol- 
lowed me in the regeneration," &c, he means in 
the change of dispensations — from the legal to 
the Gospel dispensation. " For the law and the 
prophets were until John." Then and there they 
ceased, because then the kingdom of God, that is, 
the remedial system or Gbspel dispensation, began 
to be preached, and every man pressed into it: 

E. D. Griffin : " .Regeneration is a transition from supreme 
selfishness to universal love — from enmity against God to su- 
preme attachment to him." Yide Lectures, page 91. 

Dr. Gill : u Regeneration is the production of the new man, 
or a new principle, which was not before." Vide Divinity, 
page 373. 

Geo. Duffield : " Regeneration is the commencement of 
spiritual life." See his work on Regeneration, page 202. 

"Witherspoon : Cl Regeneration is the reparation of the loss 
which man sustained by the fall." See his Treatise, page 136. 



44 NATURE OF REGENERATION. 

Luke 16:16. You, therefore, said Christ, who 
have followed me in this change of dispensations ; 
you who have renounced Judaism and embraced 
Christianity, you shall have your reward in my 
coming kingdom. 

In Titus 3 : 5, regeneration is joined to the word 
washing ; in the original it is l&rpou, laver, or bath. 
Concerning this laver, commentators and biblical 
critics have had various opinions. My own opin- 
ion is, that it means the Gospel, or Word of God. 
My reasons for this opinion I shall assign here- 
after, when I come to speak of the causes of this 
great change called regeneration. 

But the true nature of this work of grace may 
be seen more fully by considering some of its lead- 
ing features or properties. This change is : 

1. A moral change. 

2. A real change. 
S. A great change. 

4. A universal change. 

5. A manifest change. 

6. A speedy change. 

7. A mysterious change. 

8. A supernatural and divine change. 

1. We say regeneration is a moral change. Not 
because, as some say, it is effected by moral sua- 
sion alone, but independent of the manner in which 
this change is wrought, it is, in its nature, a moral 
change, because it lies in the renewal of man's 
moral, and not in the renewal of his physical and 
intellectual nature. Man's natural constitution, 



NATURE OF REGENERATION. 45 

the members of his body and the faculties of his 
mind remain the same posterior to the change 
that they were anterior to it. The regenerated 
man, therefore, has no new, natural constitution. 
This, indeed, may be improved, yet still his physi- 
cal nature is substantially the same, but his moral 
nature, that is to say, the prevailing and govern- 
ing principle of the soul is entirely new ; " created 
after God in righteousness and true holiness."* 

2. Regeneration is a real change, and not merely 
a relative or formal one. A relative change, as 
we have shown, is effected in justification; but 
in regeneration there is a real bond fide change 
wrought in the entire moral nature of man ; so 
that man's carnal and vicious nature is made spir- 
itual and holy. 

The reality of this change is clearly evinced : 

1st. By the sacred Scriptures. 

2d By the experience of primitive Christians, 
and, 

3d. By the experience and observation of mod- 
ern Christians. 

* By a change in man's corrupt moral nature, we are not 
merely to understand, u a relish for spiritual objects, nor a vol- 
untary change of choice, nor new feelings and affections." 
These things are, properly speaking, the effects or fruits of the 
new-born nature, and not the renewal of that nature itself. As 
the fruit of a tree is entirely different from the nature of the 
tree itself, so the fruits of man's renewed moral nature are alto- 
gether distinct from that nature; and the moral change re- 
quired lies back of, and is anterior to, its correspondent fruits, 
and which serve to characterize the renewed nature. 



46 NATURE OF REGENERATION. 

1st. The reality of the work of regeneration is 
proved by the " Scriptures of truth." 

In Ezekiel 36 : 26, 27, God says, " A new heart 
also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put 
withifi you : and I will take away the stony heart 
out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of 
flesh." 

In John 3:6, the Saviour says, " That which is 
born of the flesh, is flesh ; and that w T hich is born 
of the Spirit, is spirit, 7 ' or spiritual. 

In 2 Cor. 5 : 17, the apostle says, "If any man 
be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are 
passed away; behold, all things are become new." 

These few texts or passages, besides many others 
that might be quoted, very clearly and conclu- 
sively show that regeneration is a real, sound, and 
radical change in the nature of man. 

2d. The same thing is evinced by the experience 
of the first Christians, as exhibited in the New 
Testament. 

A few passages may be adduced to set this mat-, 
ter in a clear light. 

In Paul's Epistle to the Colossians, chap. 3 : 9, 
10, he says, addressing himself to Colossian Chris- 
tians, "Ye have put off the old man with his 
deeds; and have put on the new man, which is re- 
newed in knowledge after the image of him that 
created him." 

Again, this same apostle, in his Epistle to Titus, 
chap. 3 : 3-7, says, " For w T e ourselves also were 
sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving 



NATURE OP REGENERATION. 47 

divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and 
envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after 
that the kindness and love of God our Saviour 
toward man appeared, not by works of righteous- 
ness w^hich we have done, but according to his 
mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, 
and renewing of the Holy Ghost ; which he shed on 
us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 
that being justified by his grace, we should be 
made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." 
See also Eph. 2 : 1-7. 

These, and many other passages of like import, 
give us a convincing proof of the reality of a 
change in the character and conduct of the primi- 
tive Christians. We learn here what their char- 
acter was before, and what it was after their con- 
version ; and from the whole we see that their 
conversion was not a mere fancy or chimera, but 
a real, thorough, and glorious change of their 
whole moral nature. But, 

3d. The reality of regeneration is also demon- 
strated by the experience and observation of mod- 
ern Christians. 

There are thousands ana tens of thousands, in 
modern times, who have borne an unequivocal tes- 
timony in favor of the truth and certainty of re- 
generation. This they have done both by word 
and deed. I might refer you here to the life and 
experience of many eminent men and women, 
whose praise is in all the Churches of the saints. 
Such, for instance, as Richard Baxter, John Bun- 



48 NATURE OF REGENERATION. 

yan, John Newton, Philip Doddridge, Colonel 
Gardner, Matthew Mead, John and Charles AVes- 
ley, William Fletcher, President Edwards, James 
Patterson, Harriet Kewel, Ann Jndson, and many 
others of equal notoriety. 

There are also many ministers and Christian 
congregations, who have witnessed the sound and 
powerful conversion of scores and multitudes of 
all classes and ages, of all ranks and conditions, in 
the numerous and extensive revivals of religion 
which have signally marked and distinguished the 
day and age in which we live. 

In these revivals, infidels, drunkards, persecu- 
tors, and all manner of vile, degraded, and disso- 
lute persons, have been radically and permanently 
changed in heart and life ; so that all who had 
any acquaintance with them, and whose minds 
were open to conviction, have had the most con- 
vincing proof of the reality of regeneration. A 
renewed nature, and nothing else, is the true cause 
of holy volitions and actions. Hence, by reason- 
ing and judging of this work as we rightfully 
ought to do, a posteriori, the reality of it is at once 
clearly and invincibly demonstrated. 

3. Regeneration is a great change. 

The greatness of this change will appear, if we 
consider the phraseology and metaphors by which 
it is expressed in the Scriptures. 

First, it is represented under the idea of a res- 
urrection, or a passage from death to life. " Verily, 
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, 



NATURE OF REGENERATION. 49 

ft 

and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlast- 
ing life, and shall not come into condemnation; 
but is passed from death unta life." John 5 : 24. 
" For this my son was dead, and is alive again." 
Luke 15 : 24. " But God, who is rich in mercy, 
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even 
when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us 
together with Christ ; and hath raised us up to- 
gether, and made us sit together in heavenly 
places, in Christ Jesus." Eph. 2 : 4-6. " "We know 
that we have passed from death unto life." 1 John 
3:14. 

Again, it is represented under the notion of a 
new creation. 

" Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new 
creature : old things are passed away ; behold, all 
things are become new." 2 Cor. 5:17. " For we 
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto 
good works." Eph. 2 : 10. " Ye have put oft' the 
old man with his deeds ; and have put on the new 
man, which is renewed in knowledge after the 
image of him that created him." Col. 3:9, 10. 
"In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth 
anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature," 
or as some translate xtigis, creation. Gal. 6:15. 

Moreover, it is expressed by " the renewing of 
the Holy Ghost," by being " born again," " born 
of God," '-born of water and of the Spirit," etc. 
See Titus 3:5; John 3 : 5, 7 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 23 ; John 
1 : 13. 

Now the idea of " a resurrection," a " new-crea- 



50 NATURE OF REGENERATION. 

tion," a " parturition or birth," involves a great 
change. In regeneration, therefore, there is a great 
and marvellous change wrought upon the inner or 
spiritual man. 

4. Regeneration is a universal change. 

There are not wanting those who consider the 
new-birth but partial, at best, in this life. They 
speak of " regenerated man, as being partly virtu- 
ous and partly sinful ; and of his true and entire 
character as being a mixture of moral good and 
evil." 

This unmingled heterodoxy, I must confess, I 
do not understand, and cannot reconcile with the 
doctrine of the Bible. In my view of the subject, 
the doctrine of the new birth, as taught in the 
sacred Scriptures, obviously implies a general or 
universal change in the whole man. The entire 
man is affected and vitiated by the fall. So that 
" from the sole of the foot even unto .the head there 
is no soundness in it ; but wounds and bruises 
and putrefying sores." Isa. 1 : 6. Regeneration 
contemplates the reparation and salvation of the 
whole man; the whole man, therefore, must be 
regenerated or born again. 

The truth and certainty of this fact, that the 
change under consideration is not partial, but uni- 
versal, is clearly established by the constant tenor 
of the oracles of God. " That," says the Saviour, 
u which is born of the Spirit, is spirit." John 3 : 
6. " If any man be in Christ, he is a new crea- 
ture : old things are passed away ; behold, all things 



NATURE OF REGENERATION. 51 

are become new." 2 Cor. 5:17. "Seeing that ye 
have put off the old man with his deeds, and have 
put on the new man." Col. 3:9, 10. Now, if the 
regenerated " are new creatures," — if u all things 
are become new," — if they are spiritual, and not 
carnal, — if they are " created after God in righte- 
ousness and true holiness." — if "they are made 
meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the 
saints in light," — if " they are heirs of God, and 
joint heirs with # Christ," — if "they are the sheep 
of his fold," — if "branches in Him," — if "mem- 
bers of his body," etc., etc., then they must have 
undergone a radical and universal change. This 
change must comprehend, 1, a change in the 
understanding; 2, a change in the will; 3, a 
change in the affections ; and 4, a change in the 
life and conduct. 

5. Regeneration is a manifest change 

1. It is manifest or perceptible to those who are 
the subjects of it. 

2. It is manifest to those around us. 

1. This change is clear and manifest to those 
who are the subjects of it. This fact is denied by 
some. They think the only perception and evi- 
dence that a person can have of his regeneration, 
is furnished by the subsequent state of his affec- 
tions and conduct. But this is certainly an error. 
That it is so, may be readily concluded. 

First. From the nature of the work. If this 
change is, as we have seen, a radical, great and 
universal change in the moral nature of man, then 



52 NATURE OF REGENERATION. 

the subject of it may surely have, yea, ought to 
have, and must have, ordinarily at least, some in- 
tuitive knowledge and perception of this change. 
If a sudden transition from darkness to light, and 
from death to life, is and must be, from the nature 
of things, clearly perceptible, then doubtless is re- 
generation also perceptible. But it may be con- 
cluded, 

Second. From the experience of the primitive 
Christians. The Bible shows very clearly, that 
the first Christians were received into Church fel- 
lowship, and admitted to Christian baptism, at 
the time or immediately after their spiritual birth. 
From this time they were recognized as brethren. 
jSTow, with what propriety could they have joined 
the Church, submitted to baptism, and considered 
themselves as brethren, if they had no conscious- 
ness of the fact that they were born of the Spirit? 

Third. From the experience of modern Chris- 
tians, the denial of intuitive evidence of regenera- 
tion is disproved. The most, if not all, who have 
ever been born of God, have had an intuitive evi- 
dence, or realized a feeling sense of their accept- 
ance with God ; and who accordingly forever after 
profess to know the time and place, and all the 
attending circumstances of their spiritual nativity. 

2. This change is also manifest toothers; and 
that to all, both converted and unconverted. If 
the change were not manifest to the converted, 
how could they recognize and treat them as 
brethren? And if it w T ere not apparent to the 



NATURE OF REGENERATION. 53 

unconverted, how could they know when and 
whom to hate and persecute, as they usually do ? 

6. Regeneration is a speedy change. 

This position has^Deen strenuously resisted and 
controverted by a great many, both among the 
ministry and membership of the different denomi- 
nations. But their opposition to the idea of a 
sudden and speedy regeneration, has uniformly 
grown out of a misconception of the nature of the 
work. Where the true nature of a spiritual birth 
is rightly understood, the speediness of it is seldom 
or never controverted. 

Whatever antecedent acts, exercises, and prep- 
arations there may be for such a change, yet all 
these are certainly to be distinguished from the 
change itself. All men are either in a regenerate 
or an unregenerate state ; there is no middle state 
between the two. 

Those who adopt the scheme of a gradual or 
progressive regeneration, must allow an interme- 
diate state, which is absurd. The admission of 
such a state would imply the existence of charac- 
ters who are neither sinful nor holv; and if so 
they have no moral nature, and consequently are 
deserving neither praise nor blame from God, the 
moral Governor of the world. 

The scheme, therefore, which advocates the 
principle of progressive regeneration is weak and 
unphilosophical. 

But for the arbitration of this part of the sub- 
ject, let us appeal to the law and the testimony. 

5 



54 NATURE OF REGENERATION. 

This, doubtless, is the true way of settling every 
question pertaining to revealed religion. How, 
then, is it written? and what say the Scriptures 
on the subject? • 

The phraseology by which this change is chiefly 
denoted in the Scriptures, clearly shows that it is 
not gradual, but instantaneous or speedy. This 
change is represented under the image of a resur- 
rection : " You hath he quickened, who were dead 
in trespasses and sins." Eph. 2:1. It is called 
a translation from bondage into liberty. Gal. 5 : 
1. It is called the opening of the eyes of the 
blind. Ps. 146: 8. It is called a new birth. John 
3 : 3. Now all these figures import a speedy 
change. There is a period when the dead come 
to life. There is also a moment when the blind 
begin to see. So likewise a time when bondsmen 
receive their liberty, and when children are born. 
The same thing we are taught by facts recorded 
in the Scriptures. The thief on the cross; the 
three thousand on the day of Pentecost ; Corne- 
lius and his kinsfolks and friends ; Lvdia and her 
house; the jailer and his family, and many others, 
are striking examples in proof of our position. 

7. Eegeneration is a mysterious change. This 
truth is clearly shown by our Lord, when he says, 
" The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou 
hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence 
it cometh, and whither it goeth : so is every one 
that is born of the Spirit." John 3 : 9. 

The fact itself, that God does change the heart 



NATURE OF REGENERATION. 55 

of man — that " he takes away the heart of stone," 
as the Prophet says, " and substitutes a heart of 
flesh ;" that he renews the natural " spirit of the 
mind," which is averse to God and spiritual good, 
and propense to that which is evil ; and instead 
thereof, infuses a living principle of grace, or a 
holy disposition, which renders the soul averse to 
sin, and inclines it to delight in God and things 
divine, we have already sufficiently proved, and 
which indeed cannot be denied: but then, as to the 
modus operandi of the divine power and influence 
in bringing about this marvellous change, we can 
know but little — this forms a mystery profound. 
The mystery of this change the Saviour himself 
did not pretend to explain ; for when Nicodemus 
inquired into the rationale of this birth, saying, 
"How can these things be?" Jesus simply re- 
plied, " Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest 
not these things ?" 

But there are many in these Athenian times, 
who pretend to understand and account for every- 
thing. And whatever seems to be a mystery, and 
they cannot rationally account for, they at once 
reject as being unworthy of a place in their relig- 
ious creed. These vain and conceited rationalists 
ought to remember that God intends in a coming 
day to take the " wise in their own craftiness." 

If men can allow mysteries in the kingdom of 
nature, why not in the kingdom of grace ? jSTature 
is full of mysteries. Every man is a mystery to 
himself. He cannot explain the mode of his own 



56 NATURE OF REGENERATION. 

existence. He understands not the union subsist- 
ing between soul and body. He cannot decipher 
the mysterious process by which the food he eats 
is converted into flesh and bones ; nor why one hair 
is black and another white. He cannot solve the 
mystery of vegetation. He cannot comprehend 
the process by which the sap of the trees is formed 
into wood, and bark, and leaves, and blossoms, 
and all the variety of fruits which grow upon them. 
He cannot understand and explain the manner in 
which seed, cast into the ground, vegetates and 
grows up, first the blade, then the ear, after that 
the full corn in the ear. All these things are in- 
explicable mysteries. They lie beyond the com- 
prehension of man. They are too deep for him. 
Yet he never once thinks of 'repudiating these 
facts, simply because they are mysterious and in- 
explicable. Why then discard a religious dogma 
on account of its mysterious nature ? Where is 
the rationality and consistency of such a course ? 
Suppose the Israelites had rejected the simple 
remedy provided for them in the wilderness against 
the bites of the fiery serpents, at the time of their 
rebellion, merely because neither Moses nor them- 
selves could tell how a piece of brass in the shape 
of a serpent, raised on a pole, and set in the midst 
of the camp, could, when looked at by a bitten 
Israelite, exert a healing influence on his wounds, 
and effect a sovereign and immediate cure. What 
would have been the consequence of such an 
unreasonable rejection? The unavoidable conse- 



NATURE OF REGENERATION. 57 

quence would have been instant death. There 
was no other remedy for them. They had no 
other alternative, therefore, than to use this, or 
die. 

So, likewise, with the sinner. There is but one 
remedy for him. Christ is the only Saviour. 
The sinner, therefore, " who believes on him," as 
the Scripture hath said, with a heart to righteous- 
ness, " shall not perish, but have everlasting life ; 
but he that believeth not shall be damned." 

8. The change wrought in regeneration is super- 
natural. 

By a supernatural change, I mean a change that 
is above nature — that cannot be affected by natu- 
ral causes, or by the stated operations of nature, 
and by human contrivances; but which is and 
must be accomplished by the influence and power 
of God. 
. This truth I shall endeavor to establish : 

1. From Scripture testimonies ; and 

2. From Scripture facts. 

1. Scripture testimonies prove the new-birth to 
be supernatural. A few texts, out of many, will 
be sufficient to establish this point. 

" Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will 
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of G-od." 
John 1 : 13. 

" But Grod, who is rich in mercy, for his great 
love wherewith he loved us, even when we were 
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with 
Christ." Eph. 2 : 4, 5. 



58 NATURE OP REGENERATION. 

" For by grace are ye saved, through faith ; and 
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." 
Eph. 2 : 8. 

" Not by works of righteousness which we have 
done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by 
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the 
Holy Ghost." Tit. 3:5. 

These, and many other passages of like import, 
and couched under various metaphors, show most 
conclusively the truth of our position, viz. : that 
this change is pre-eminently the work of God. 

The same thing is equally demonstrated, 

2. By Scripture facts. 

The case of the Cesarean converts shows the re- 
generating power to be supernatural and divine. 
" While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy 
Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And 
they of the circumcision which believed, were as- 
tonished, as many as came with Peter, because 
that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift 
of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak 
with tongues, and magnify God." Acts 10 : 44-46. 

Take another case. The conversion of Saul of 
Tarsus shows irrefragably the same thing. " At 
midday, O king, I saw in the way a light from 
heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining 
round about me, and them which journeyed with 
me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, 
I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in 
the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest 
thou me ? It is hard for thee to kick against the 



NATURE OF REGENERATION. 59 

pricks. And I said, "Who art thou, Lord? And he 
said, I am Jesus whom thou j>ersecutest. But rise, 
and stand upon thy feet : for I have appeared unto 
thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and 
a witness both of these things which thou hast 
seen, and of those things in the which I will ap- 
pear unto thee : delivering thee from the people, 
and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 
to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness 
to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, 
that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and in- 
heritance among them which are sanctified by faith 
that is in me. Whereupon, King Agrippa, I 
was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision : but 
showed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jeru- 
salem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and 
then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and 
turn to God, and do works meet for repentance." 
Acts 26 : 13-20. 

Thus, then, we see from Scripture testimony, 
and Scripture facts, that the renovation of the 
soul, after the image of God, is a work achieved, 
not by human power and skill, but by the great 
power and energy of the living God. The differ- 
ent schemes among the learned as to the manner 
in which it has been supposed that God effects 
this change, we shall reserve for future considera- 
tion. 

We shall close for the present by asking who in 
this congregation has experienced this great moral 
renovation of the inner man, the nature, adjuncts, 



60 NATURE OF REGENERATION. 

and properties of which we have endeavored to 
explain in this discourse. This change of man's 
depraved nature is the great sine qua non in the 
scheme of human salvation. ■ Hence an error in 
this matter is fraught with fearful consequences. 
Ponder, therefore, this weighty subject in your 
hearts, and tell me seriously, as in the presence of 
God, whether any of you have good reasons to 
believe that you are born again ? There are those 
present, I trust, who can unhesitatingly answer 
the question in the affirmative. You know, un- 
doubtedly, by internal and external evidences, that 
you are born of God. May you never forget the 
day of your nativity ! May you always realize 
your obligations to God for this great mercy! 
May each of you be enabled to adopt the lan- 
guage, and act upon the sentiments of the poet, in 
the following stanzas : 

Assist my soul, my heavenly King, 
Thine everlasting love to sing ; 
And joyful spread thy praise abroad, 
As one, through grace, that's born of God. 

No, it was not the will of man, 
My soul's new heavenly birth began, 
Nor will; nor pow'r of flesh and blood, 
That turned my heart from sin to God. 

Herein let self be all abased, 
And heav'nly love alone confessed : 
This be my song through all the road, 
That born I am, and born of God. 



NATURE OF REGENERATION. 61 

O may this love my soul constrain 
To make returns of love again, 
That I, while earth is my abode, 
May live like one that's born of God. 

And when th' appointed hour shall come, 
And thou wilt call me to my home ; 
Joyful I'll pass the chilling flood, 
And sing and say, I'm born of God. 



But a few words yet, before I close, to the un- 
regenerate. You heard under our first sermon, a 
week ago, what regeneration is ^iot. To-night 
you have heard what regeneration is, viz.: a radi- 
cal change of the moral nature or disposition of 
the mind. This nature or disposition is naturally 
depraved ; that is, prone to evil and averse to 
good. Hence it must be changed, so that it will 
be directly the reverse of what it is by nature, 
averse to sin and inclined to holiness. This re- 
newed spirit or disposition of the mind is called 
in the Scriptures by different names. It is called, 
"A new creature." 2 Cor. 5:17. "The new 
man." Eph. 4 : 24. " The Spirit of Christ." Rom. 
8 : 9. " The divine nature." 2 Pet. 1 : 4. " A pure 
heart." Matt. 5:8. "A heart of flesh." Ez. 36 : 
26. " A new heart." Ez. 36 : 26. " God's seed." 
1 John 3 : 9. " A spiritual mind." Rom. 8 : 6. 

All these things clearly indicate that this great 
and necessary change is a divine work. This every 
sinner must learn to feel. You must learn to rea- 



62 NATURE OF REGENERATION. 

lize your dependence on God. If ever you are born 
again, you must be born of God. 

And yet you must understand that God will 
never change you by physical and irresistible 
force. He has made you moral agents. He offers 
you free salvation. He expects you to receive it 
through faith. This is his own plan of salvation. 
If he ever saves you, therefore, it will be in per- 
fect keeping with your free moral agency and his 
own graciou s scheme of salvation. Are you wil- 
ling to be saved in this way ? Are you now willing 
thus to be saved ? If so, now come to Jesus. Now 
believe on the Son of God, and now, even now, 
you may obtain power to become the sons of God. 
" And if sons, then heirs ; heirs of God. and joint 
heirs with Christ." 



CAUSES OE REGENERATION. 63 



SERMON III. 

SHOWING THE CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

John 3 : 7. — " Marvel not that I said unto thee, Te must be 
born again.' * 

Having shown in the two preceding sermons 
what regeneration is not and what it is, we shall 
now proceed, 

2d]y. To show the causes of the new birth. 

These we shall consider in the following order : 

1. The moving canse. 

2. The meritorious cause. 

3. The efficient cause. 

4. The instrumental cause ; and 

5. The procuring cause of regeneration, or the 
new birth. 

Resuming then, the order proposed, we shall 
consider, 

1st. The moving or impelling cause of the new 
birth. This is not man himself. He never was, 
and never will be, the original mover of his own 
conversion. Though Adam by transgression fell, 
and lost both the favor and image of his Maker, 
yet we are nowhere told that he ever desired and 



64 CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

sought for restoration to God; and if he did, it 
was not until after the Lord sought him. This is 
precisely the case with all Adam's posterity. 

None ever have of their own accord, and none 
ever will of themselves, uninfluenced by other and 
higher causes, desire and seek, much less effect, a 
change of their own hearts. 

But when " man was cast into the open field/' 
and lay " polluted in his own blood ;" when there 
was no eye to pity him, and no created arm to 
bring salvation ; then, even then, did God's eye 
pity, and his own arm bring salvation. That the 
Supreme and Eternal God is truly and properly 
the impulsive cause of regeneration, the following 
passages will fully demonstrate : 

" As by one man sin entered into the world, and 
death by sin, so death passed upon all men, for 
that all have sinned ; therefore, as by the offence 
of one, judgment came upon all men to condem- 
nation, even so, by the righteousness of one, the 
free gift came upon all men to justification of life. 
For if by one man's offence death reigned by one, 
much more they who receive abundance of grace, 
and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life 
by one, Jesus Christ." Rom. 5 : 12, 13-17. 

" But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great 
love wherewith he loved us, even when we were 
dead in sins, hath quickened us together with 
Christ : by grace ye are saved." Eph. 2 : 4, 5. 

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your 



CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 65 

sakes lie became poor, that ye through his poverty 
might be rich." 2 Cor. 8:9. 

" But after that the kindness and love of God 
our Saviour towards man appeared, not by works 
of righteousness which we have done, but accord- 
ing to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of 
regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost ; 
which he shed on us abundantly, through Jesus 
Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his 
grace, we should be made heirs according to the 
hope of eternal life." Tit. 3 : 4-7. 

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but 
that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the pro- 
pitiation for our sins." 1 John 4 : 10. 

" God so loved the world that he gave his only 
begotten Son — God sent not his Son into the world 
to condemn the world, but that the world through 
him might be saved." John 3 : 16, 17. 

From these, and many other passages of similar 
import, it is as clear and conclusive as anything 
can be, that God, of his own will, and according 
to his abundant mercy, regenerates and saves the 
people. We shall now proceed to show, 

2dly. The meritorious cause of regeneration. 
This is nothing less than the blood of Christ ; in 
other words it is the atonement, or propitiatory 
sacrifice made by the sufferings and death of Jesus 
Christ for the sins of the world. Man, in his pri- 
meval state, enjoyed both the favor and likeness 
of God ; but by transgression, or in consequence 
of his sin, he lost both, and became his enemy. In 



66 CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

this guilty, ruined, and helpless state, Jehovah 
might justly have suffered him to remain and 
perish eternally. God was under no obligations 
to redeem him. Man had ruined himself without 
cause, and forfeited all claims to the favor and 
mercy of his Almighty Maker, and justly incurred 
the penalty of the law, and the wages of sin, which 
is death. ITowbeit, as God had created man for 
his own glory, he w r as not willing that any should 
perish without hope ; that is, without an overture 
of mercy and salvation. But this overture could 
not be made consistently without an adequate 
atonement for human guilt. God's law was broken, 
and his justice required that it should be made 
honorable. This could not be done by fallen man 
himself, for he was without strength. Hence God, 
in his infinite wisdom and goodness, and accord- 
ing to his abundant mercy, laid the wondrous plan 
of salvation as exhibited in the Gospel. 

The groundwork of this plan is the atonement 
of Jesus Christ. This doctrine forms the merito- 
rious cause of regeneration, and the foundation of 
all our hopes. We shall, therefore, here present 
the argument as drawn from the Bible in support 
of this doctrine. 

1. The doctrine of the atonement is substan- 
tiated by the sacrifices under the law. Under the 
legal dispensation, God ordered the offering of 
certain sacrifices as an atonement for the sins of 
the people. Lev. 1:4; 4:15, 24; 16:6, 16, 21, 
22. These sacrifices were vicarious oblations ; that 



CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 67 

is, they were put in the place of guilty sinners, to 
appease the anger of God, to atone for their sins, 
and save them from condign punishment. Lev. 4: 
27-35. These Levitical or legal offerings were all 
typical of the atonement of Christ. Hence the 
sufferings and death of Christ are expressly called 
a sacrifice for sins. Heb. 10:12. As, therefore, 
Levitical priests offered different animals in the 
room of the guilty Israelites, so Christ appeared, 
in the end of the world, " to offer himself without 
spot to God," and thus " put away sin by the sac- 
rifice of himself." Heb. 9 : 14-26. 

2. This doctrine may be proved from those pas- 
sages which speak of Christ as a propitiation for 
sins. Rom. 3 : 25 ; 1 John 2:2; 4 : 10. 

The word translated propitiation is in the origi- 
nal hilasmos. This word, though seldom used in 
the JSTew Testament, occurs very often in the Sep- 
tuagint, and is generally used to signify an expia- 
tory or atoning sacrifice. This, likewise, is the 
true and proper meaning of the word in the Gos- 
pel or New Testament. In German it is trans- 
lated versenung ; L e. reconciliation. 

3. The doctrine may be argued from those texts, 
in which it is said that we are reconciled to God 
by the death of Christ. See 2 Cor. 5 : 18, 19, 20 ; 
Rom. 5 : 10 ; Col. 1 : 20 ; Heb. 2:17. " Reconcilia- 
tion between man and man supposes a former state 
of friendship subsisting between them, a breach 
of that friendship, and a renewing and restoring 



68 CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

of it ; and there is something similar to this in 
reconciliation between God and man." 

4. The same thing may be concluded from those 
passages of Scripture which speak of Christ as a 
ransom for sin. The word ransom signifies the 
price paid for the deliverance of a captive. In the 
original there are two words used, viz., korpov and 
avzdorpov ; the latter is used to denote the redemp- 
tion of a captive, by giving up the life of another 
person. See 1 Tim. 2:6; Matt. 20: 28 ; Mark 10: 
45. 

5. Of the same nature are all those passages, 
which declare that we are redeemed and saved by 
Jesus Christ. See Rom. 3:24; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 
1:7; Rev. 5:9; Matt. 1:21; 18:11; Luke 19: 
10; 9:56; John 12:47; 1 Tim. 1:15. 

6. Identically the same thing may be inferred 
from various other passages ; such as the follow- 
ing: Is. 53: 4-8; Mark 8: 37; Rom. 4 25; 5:6- 
10 ; 1 Cor. 15 :3 ; 2 Cor. 5: 21 ; Eph. 5:2; Heb. 
2:9; 1 Pet. 2s 24; 3:18. 

If, then, the doctrine of Christ's substitution is 
plainly taught in the Bible, this dogma, and this 
alone, must be regarded as the grand meritorious 
cause of all the covenanted mercies and blessings 
of the God of grace. 

Pursuant to promise, we shall consider, 
3dly. The efficient cause of a spiritual change. 
This is, 

1. ls"ot man : nor, 

2. The discipline of circumstances ; but, 



CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 69 

3. God, and the special agency of his Spirit. 

1. The efficient cause of this change is not man. 

It is not in the power of man to regenerate him- 
self, nor efficiently contribute to the conversion of 
others. 

(a.) The nature of the change clearly shows that 
it cannot be effected by men. It is a regeneration ; 
that is, as we have already explained it, a rebe- 
getting, a renewing, or restoring of the lost image 
of God. It is called a birth, a resurrection, a cre- 
ation, a transformation, etc. ; all of which expres- 
sions fully show that this work is not in the com- 
pass of man's power to effect. 

But then it is asked, a May not men, by the in- 
strumentality of means, measures, and motives, 
produce a change in the heart, and a transforma- 
tion of moral character V 9 I answer, not in a nat- 
ural way, separate and apart from a divine influ- 
ence. It is not in the power of means and motives 
to produce that new and spiritual nature, that 
holy disposition, and that heavenly taste and 
temper which is wrought in regeneration. 

Means cannot do it. " Paul may plant, and 
Apollos water ; but all these means will not of 
themselves change the heart. To make them effi- 
cient, God must give the increase." 

Motives cannot do it. Motives can only induce 
the heart to act according to its existing disposi- 
tion, but can have no influence to change the dis- 
position. 

" The power of a motive," says a certain author, 



70 CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

" to influence the will, always presupposes a dispo- 
sition in the heart to entertain and fall in with it." 
In the absence of such a disposition, therefore, 
motives have no power to move the will. And if 
so, if, in the nature of things, the will cannot be 
moved and governed by motives which the heart 
disapproves; and if by their own charms they 
cannot create a new and holy disposition, then it 
naturally and necessarily follows, that men by the 
simple use of means and motives cannot change 
the human heart, which is totally depraved. If, 
indeed, in any other way, Christians and Christian 
ministers are made helpful and instrumental in 
bringing about a radical change of heart, it must 
be ascribed wholly and solely to a concomitant 
and supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit. 

(6.) But to settle this question at once, regenera- 
tion is expressly denied to be of men. John the 
Baptist, speaking of the Messiah, says, " As many 
as received him, to them gave he power to become 
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his 
name: who were born" — How? by what agency? 
" Not of blood," that is, not by virtue of natural 
descent, "nor by the will of the flesh;" that is, 
not of themselves, or by any efforts, means, and 
exertions of their own, "nor of the will of man ;" 
that is, by human power. John 1: 12, 13. 

2. The efficient cause of regeneration is not the 
discipline of circumstances. 

It is sometimes asserted, " that there is a wise 
and salutary provision in the established system 



CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 71 

of Providence for correcting any preponderance of 
evil which may arise out of imperfections in the 
works of nature and grace; and that this pro- 
vision is nothing but such a general disposition of 
the course of human events, as is necessary to pro- 
duce such corrections." 

But how often is this " general disposition of 
the course of human events," this discipline of 
circumstances, abortive in its effects ? Let sober 
and stubborn facts pronounce the decision. By 
losses and afflictions of various kinds, hundreds 
and thousands have been repeatedly and severely 
disciplined, and yet all to no purpose. Many, in- 
deed, instead of growing better, seem to have 
grown worse under all these afflictive circum- 
stances and providential dispensations. There are 
some, it is true, who have been led to serious re- 
flections, and learned to appl} r their hearts to 
wisdom, under the discipline of afflictive circum- 
stances. But, then, whenever this has been the 
happy result, it is not to be attributed to any in- 
herent and saving efficacy in the discipline itself, 
but to the special and sanctifying agency of the 
Holy Spirit. ISTature and education are not suffi- 
cient for the transformation of the moral character 
of man. And if so, to what then is this change 
to be attributed ? By w^hat efficacious agency is 
it brought about ? We answer : 

3. The efficient cause, as we have already said, 
is God and the special agency of the Holy Spirit. To 



72 CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

prove this, we adduce the following texts. First, 
a few from the Old Testament. 

" The Lord thy God w r ill circumcise thy heart, 
and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 
that thou mayest live/' Deut. 30:6. To circum- 
cise the heart means to renew the heart ; to change 
it from enmity to love. And this circumcision or 
change of heart is expressly ascribed to God: 
"The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart," 
etc. 

" A new heart also will I (God; give you, and a 
new spirit will I put within you : and I will take 
away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will 
give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my 
Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my 
statutes; and ye shall keep my judgments and do 
them." Ez. 36: 26, 27. This text also plainly 
shows that God is the giver of a new heart and a 
new spirit ; and that the consequence of receiving 
a new heart will be implicit obedience to God: 
" You shall keep my judgments and do them." 

" But," it is said in the Gospel, " as many as 
received him, to them gave he power to become 
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his 
name: w T ho were born, not of blood, nor of the 
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of 
God." John 1:12, 13. This passage, on the one 
hand, denies the new birth to be derived from 
man, and, on the other, affirms it to be from God. 

Again: Christ, in his conversation with Nico- 



CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 73 

demus, says, " Except a man be born of water and 
of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
God. That which is born of the flesh, is flesh; 
and that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit." 
John 3:5, 6. This passage proves in the most 
decisive manner that the new birth is the work 
of the Spirit of God, and that it is indispensably 
necessary in order to salvation. Furthermore, it 
is said by Paul to Titus : 

" Not by works of righteousness which, we have 
done, but according to his mercy he saved us^ by 
the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the 
Holy Ghost." Tit. 3:5. In this text the renew- 
ing influence is expressly ascribed to the Holy 
Ghost. 

Now from these and other passages we readily 
perceive that this doctrine is confirmed by the 
oracles of God, in representations as strong as any 
language can furnish, viz., that Jehovah himself 
is not only the moving and meritorious, but also 
the efficient cause of regeneration. 

As to the precise manner in which God operates 
in effecting this moral change, we have said before 
that it was indefinable. 

Accordingly, it is no legitimate subject of in- 
vestigation. Nevertheless, it may not be improper 
to make a few remarks touching this point. 

Whatever may be the modus operandi of the 
Holy Spirit in the mysterious process of the new- 
birth, certain it is that his agency will never be 
exerted in violation of any of the established laws 



74 CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

of nature in relation to mind, nor in any way in- 
consistent with the free agency of man. 

That the Spirit of God may exert a saving in- 
fluence on the mind of man without infringing; on 
his freedom, cannot be denied, seeing that u with 
him all things are possible." 

Besides, does not experience prove the same 
thing ? " Ask any Christian, and he will tell you, 
if competent to answer the question, that he is 
conscious of no loss nor change in his own free- 
dom of acting; but, on the contrary, he chose and 
acted in the same manner as before, and with the 
same full possession of all his powers ; and that 
the only difference between his former and present 
state is, that he now loves God and obeys him vol- 
untarily ; whereas he formerly hated him and vol- 
untarily disobeyed him." 

To assert, therefore, as some do, that regenera- 
tion is the result of a physical and irresistible in- 
fluence of the Spirit of God is, in our opinion, to 
speak contrary to the form of sound words. Yet, 

How to reconcile the special agency of the Spirit 
with the free agency of man, I make no scruple to 
acknowledge is an insuperable difficulty. Both 
are plainly taught in the Scriptures. Hence, 
neither must be denied. The denial of the former 
would lead to Pelagianism, the latter to Calvin- 
ism. Both are alike foreign from the truth. 

The Bible teaches both the dependence and the 
activity of man. The sovereignty of God and the 
ability of man must, therefore, both be affirmed 



CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 75 

and enforced, in order to carry out the true princi- 
ples of the Gospel. 

To tell the sinner that " without Christ he can do 
nothing," and jet that u through Christ strength- 
ening him he can-do all things;" to tell him that 
" Jesus is the author and finisher of faith," and 
yet th^t " this is the work of God, that he should 
believe on him whom he (God) hath sent," is to 
tell him nothing but what is lawful and right. 

We shall /now proceed, according to our arrange- 
ment, to point out 

4thly. The instrumental cause of regeneration. 

This is, mainly and principally, the truth of 
God. " All that is contained in means or efforts, 
human or divine, for the salvation of ourselves or 
others, is comprehended in truth, and the various 
ways of presenting truth to the mind. The great 
body of truth intended for the salvation of men is 
contained in the Bible. The truth of God, then, 
as revealed in the Bible, is the grand instrumen- 
tality by which the soul is renewed. In confirma- 
tion of this doctrine we shall allege in. evidence: 

1. The testimony of God ; and 

2. The testimony of facts. 

1. "We allege in evidence of this theory the tes- 
timony of God as given in the Scriptures. Jesus, 
the great teacher come from God, has expressly 
said, " Except a man be born of water, and of the 
Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 
John 3:5. In this passage are brought to view 
two things, viz. : the instrumentality and the 



76 CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

agency by which regeneration is accomplished. 
The instrument or means of this change is said to 
be water. Of this a man must be born, or he can- 
not enter into the kingdom of God. But what 
does the Saviour mean by the word water? This 
is a question of no small moment. Various opin- 
ions have been entertained as to the true meaning 
of this term in the above text. 

Some have explained it to mean the tears of 
penitents. Others have said that it meant bap- 
tism. And others again have explained it to mean 
the grace of the Spirit. None of these interpre- 
tations do we believe to be the true one. 

{a.) The word water does not mean the tears of 
penitents. Some penitents cannot weep. Others 
weep much, and yet they are not born again. 
Besides, it is nowhere affirmed in the Scriptures 
that sinners must weep in order to be born again. 

(b.) The term water does not mean baptism. 
Water is an element ; baptism is an action. Many 
have been regenerated before baptism. Acts 10: 
44-47. Others have been baptized, and yet not 
regenerated. Besides, the apostles never preached 
baptism as a means of regeneration. In fine this ex- 
planation proves too much ; and, therefore proves 
nothing at all. It conflicts with other Scriptures, 
and, therefore, must be false. See page 35. 

(c.) This word does not mean the grace of the 
Spirit. It is never said, that man must be born 
of the grace of the Spirit, and of the Spirit. 



CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 77 

Regeneration is not attributed to the grace of the 
Spirit as a means or an influence different from 
the Spirit. 

If, then, the Saviour did not mean by the word 
water in this text the tears of penitents, nor bap- 
tism, nor the grace of the Spirit, what did he 
mean ? We answer, he meant the truth, or W ord 
of God. To prove this we will show, 

1. That the word water is used to mean the 
Gospel, or Word of God. 

2. That a regenerating influence is expressly 
attributed to the truth of God. 

1. We say by water the Gospel or truth of God 
is meant. In Deuteronomy 32 : 2, it is said, " My 
doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech distil as 
the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, 
and as the showers upon the grass." 

Again, in Ezekiel 47 : 1-5, it is said, " Afterward 
he brought me again unto the door of the house ; 
and behold, waters issued out from under the thresh- 
old of the house eastward : for the forefront of the 
house stood toward the east, and the waters came 
down from under from the right side of the house, 
at the south side of the altar. Then brought 
he me out of the w-ay of the gate northward, and 
led me about the way without unto the outer gate 
by the way that looketh eastward ; and behold, 
there ran out waters on the right side. And when 
the man that had the line in his hand, went forth 
eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he 
brought me through the waters ; the waters were 

7 



78 CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, 
and brought me through the waters ; the waters 
were to the knees. Again he measured a thou- 
sand, and brought me through ; the waters were 
to the loins. Afterwards he measured a thousand ; 
and it w r as a river that I could not pass over : for 
the waters w T ere risen, waters to swim in, a river 
that could not be passed over." This vision of 
holy waters evidently refers to the Gospel, and 
beautifully exhibits both its rise and rapid increase. 

Again, in 1 John 5 : 8, the apostle says, " There 
are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, 
and the w r ater, and the blood: and these three 
agree in one." Here the word w 7 ater also means 
the Gospel. 

These passages may suffice to show that the 
term water is used to signify the Word of God. 
We propose to show, 

2. That regeneration is ascribed to the power 
of the Gospel as a means. The apostle says, Rom. 
1 : 16, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, 
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every 
one that believeth." Here the Gospel is declared 
to be the power of God which saves them that be- 
lieve. In German it reads : " JEine kraft gottes, die 
da selig macht alle, die damn glauben" If then 
the Gospel has saving power, it has regenerating 
power ;" for without regeneration there is no salva- 
tion. 

Again, Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, 
says," In Christ Jesus I have begotten you through 



CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 79 

the Gospel." 1 Cor. 4:15. James says, "Of his 
own will begat he us with the word of truth." 
James 1 : 18. Peter says, " Being born again, not 
of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the 
word of God." 1 Pet. 1 : 23. The Psalmist says, 
" The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the 
soul." Ps. 19:7. 

In these and other passages of like import, we 
have proof positive that regeneration is brought 
about by the instrumentality of the Gospel, or 
truth of God. The obvious meaning, therefore, 
of the Saviour in the words, " Except a man be 
born of water and of the Spirit," is, except he is 
renewed in heart and life by the power of truth, 
rendered effectual by the energy of the Holy Spirit, 
he cannot be saved from hell, and get to heaven. 

Having shown from the testimony of God as ex- 
hibited in the Scriptures of truth, that the " Wprd 
of God " is the instrumental cause of regeneration, 
we shall now proceed to argue the same thing. 

2. From the testimony of facts. It is a matter 
of fact that whenever and wherever God intends 
to bring men to the enjoyment of spiritual life and 
salvation, he first sends them the Gospel, and ex- 
cites their attention to it. Thus, when the Jews, 
" the children of the stock of Abraham," were to 
be regenerated and made "the children of the 
kingdom," God sent them " the Gospel of the 
kingdom," which is the " word of this salvation." 
See Matt. 10:5, 6; Mark 1:15; Acts 13:26. 
Thus, also, when the Gentiles were to be brought 



80 CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

nigh and made the people of God, the Lord said 
to Cornelius, by the mouth of an angel, " Send 
men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname 
is Peter, who shall tell thee words whereby thou 
and all thy house shall be saved." Acts 11:13, 
14. "When the people of Macedonia, in Philippi, 
Thessalonica, Berea, and other places, were to be 
brought into the fold or " Church of God," the 
Lord said to Paul in a vision, by a man of Mace- 
donia, " Come over and help us." 

Again : It is also a matter of fact, that wherever 
the Gospel is regularly and faithfully preached, 
there .are many more converted than where it is 
seldom and loosely proclaimed. The most success- 
ful way of preaching it, is to preach it plainly, 
affectionately, and fully. As to the question, 
whether God will save any without the use and 
influence of the Gospel, I would say I cannot tell. 
" The secret things belong to the Lord our God : but 
those things which are revealed belong to us, and 
our children." Deut. 29 : 29. Touching the future 
allotment of the heathen, it is enough for us to 
know that the God and " Judge of all the earth will 
do right." And as for us and our children, we 
know, because we have a " Thus saith the Lord" 
for it, that none can inherit eternal life, except 
they are born again ; and that, too, in God's own 
appointed way, " of water and of the Spirit." 

We now come to consider in the fifth and last 
place, 

othly. The procuring and conditional cause of 



CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 81 

regeneration on the part of the creature. An epit- 
ome of the system of means which is to be used 
on the part of man, in view of attaining to the 
blessing of regeneration, may be said to be repent- 
ance and faith. Repentance, in its primary and 
strict signification, is used to denote a change of 
mind with regard to sin. Matt. 21 : 29 ; Luke 17 : 
3. But then in its more enlarged and evangelical 
sense it implies: 1. Knowledge of sin; 2. Sorrow 
for sin ; 3. Hatred to sin ; 4. Confession of sin ; 
and 5. Renunciation of sin. 

Faith in general signifies a full persuasion of 
mind of the truth of revelation. But living and 
saving faith is made up, first, of assent ; secondly, 
of desire ; and thirdly, of trust. The man, for in- 
stance, who believes in Christ " with all his heart," 
or " with a heart to righteousness/ 7 does in the 
first place give his assent to the truth of all that 
is testified concerning Jesus ; secondly, he sin- 
cerely desires him to become his Saviour; and 
thirdly, he fully trusts him for a present and full 
salvation. This and this alone is the sum total 
of living and saving faith in Jesus Christ. 

Repentance and faith are both voluntary acts 
of the mind. Nothing, indeed, can be rightfully 
required of a moral agent, which are not in their 
nature voluntary acts. These acts, therefore, being 
in the most express terms required of man by the 
law of God, must, of course, be voluntary acts of 
the mind. 

Hence, with perfect consistency, God has en- 



82 CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

joined these duties as conditions of a present sal- 
vation, and placed them where they ought to be 
placed, among the antecedents of the change, bear- 
ing the name of regeneration. 

Accordingly, when John the harbinger of Jesus 
Christ commenced preaching, he began with the 
doctrine of repentance and faith, saying to the 
people, "Repent ye — believe on Christ Jesus" 
Matt. 3:2; Acts 19 : 4. 

When Christ, the great Teacher come from 
God, commenced his public ministry, he likewise 
preached the duties of repentance and faith, say- 
ing, " The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of 
God is at hand : repent ye, and believe the Gos- 
pel." Mark 1:15. 

Again, when the apostles of our Lord went out 
under their great commission to show the people the 
way of salvation, they, too, " testified and preached 
both to the Jews and also to the Greeks repent- 
ance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus 
Christ." Acts 20 : 21. 

Now all this was perfectly right, seeing " God 
has commanded all men everywhere to repent," 
and to " believe on his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ," 
on pain of eternal death. 

" With the heart believeth to righteousness, and 
with the mouth confession is made to salvation." 
" As many as received him, to them gave he power 
to become the sons of God, even to them that be- 
lieve on his name." " He that believeth and is 
baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not 



CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 83 

shall be damned." Acts 17:30; 1 John 3:23; 
Luke 13:5; John 3:36; John 1:12; Eom. 10: 
10; Mark 16: 16. 

Hence we clearly perceive that salvation, from 
first to last, is conditional. God treats men as 
moral agents, and not as necessary ones or mere 
machines. 

There are some divines who place faith and re- 
pentance among the effects of regeneration, and 
not among the antecedents. But this, we pre- 
sume, they have learned in the modern " schools 
of the prophets," and not in the school of Christ. 
For if it be true, as they allege, that God regener- 
ates m'en anterior to the acts of faith and repent- 
ance ; and if, as they further say, that their final 
perseverance is infallibly certain, then upon what 
rational grounds can God, as an all- wise and just 
Being, command the duty of faith on pain of 
eternal damnation ? God certainly does not mock 
men. He cannot be the author of folly and sin. 
And yet this unphilosophical and unscriptural 
theory charges him with both. For if it be true, 
as some say, that Christ died for all, — that he has 
authorized the Gospel to be preached to all, — and 
that he commands all to believe on himself, on 
pain of an endless death ; and yet that none can 
or will obey him but such as he first regenerates, 
then, in our judgment, all such unavoidably charge 
the Almighty with cruelty, partiality, and folly. 
Surely God is not so unjust as to suspend the sal- 
vation of men upon impossible conditions, and 



84 CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

then damn them eternally for not complying with 
the same. Such a system impeaches the character 
of God, and makes him a sheer arbitrary tyrant. 

But the true doctrine is, that sinners in the 
economy of God are required to use the appointed 
means of grace, such as hearing and reading the 
Word of God, prayer and fasting, etc., but espe- 
cially are they required to repent and to believe 
on Jesus Christ ; not of themselves, but under the 
helpful influence of the grace of God. " For by 
grace," it is written, " are ye saved, through faith ; 
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." 
Eph. 2 : 8. The true meaning of this passage is 
this : salvation (not faith) is the gift of God ; and 
this gift is not of debt, but by grace ; and yet 
through faith as the procuring and conditional 
act of the creature. 1 John 5 : 1. 

This is the true plan — this is the right way of 
the Lord to save sinners. If sinners are not wil- 
ling to be saved in this way, they can never be 
saved at all. God will never alter his plan. He 
will never accommodate himself to the whims and 
reveries of proud and sinful men, in order to save 
them and bring them to heaven, iu) man can 
reasonably hope to experience and attain to the 
blessedness of a regenerate state without the ex- 
ercise of u repentance toward God, and faith to- 
ward our Lord Jesus Christ." As by faith sinners 
are justified, so by faith also are they regenerated. 

Faith, therefore, is the procuring cause on the 
part of man of regeneration. 



CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 85 

ISTow let us briefly review the subject under con- 
sideration, and so conclude for the present. 

1st. We have heard that the moving or impulsive 
cause of regeneration is the great God of heaven, 
whose name and nature is love. Let us then, as 
John says, "love him, because he first loved us." 
John 3 : 19. 

2dly. We have been informed that the meritori- 
ous cause of this change is " the atonement of 
Christ." This makes room for the salvation of 
the vilest sinner. This furnishes an all-prevailing 
plea in our approaches to God, because " the blood 
of Christ cleanseth from all sin," and God, in 
" Christ, can save to the uttermost." 

3dly. We have seen that the efficient cause of 
this moral renovation is " the Holy Spirit." Let 
us then look away from men and means. Let us 
look up to God and believingly ask for, carefully 
cherish, and implicitly submit to, the power and 
influence of the Spirit of God. 

4thly. We have learned that the instrumental 
cause of the new birth is the truth of God. The 
Bible contains this great body of truth. Make 
the Bible, therefore, the man of your counsel. 
" Search the Scriptures," as Jesus said, and receive 
into honest and good hearts this " incorruptible 
seed ; this engrafted word, which is able to save 
your souls." 

Hear, also, the word preached. Hear it often ; 
not once in a while only. Hear it wherever it is 

8 



86 CAUSES OF REGENERATION. 

faithfully preached. Hear all things, " whatever 
the Spirit " by the word " saith to the churches." 
If sinners neglect the house of God, they have no 
reason to expect that God will convert their souls. 
God works by means, and sinners have no right to 
hope for favors from him but through the use and 
influence of means. Can farmers expect to reap 
where they have not sown ? "No, surely not. So 
neither can sinners expect to be regenerated and 
saved whilst they are neglecting the use of God's 
appointed means. But, 

5thly. We have heard also that the procuring 
cause of this new creation, after the likeness of 
God, is a true and living faith in Jesus Christ. 
" Faith," we are told, " cometh by hearing, and 
hearing by the Word of God." Rom. 10 : 17. In 
German this text reads, " Der glaube kommt aus 
der predigt, das predigen aber durch das Wort 
Gottes" That is, " Faith comes through preach- 
ing, but preaching through the Word of God." 
Now, if faith comes through preaching, and 
through the preaching of the Word of God, then 
all who desire to be brought to believe in Christ, 
and through faith to become converted, should 
make it a point to attend the faithful preaching 
of God's word whenever they have an opportu- 
nity. And whenever under preaching or other- 
wise they are cut to the heart, so that they realize 
their sinfulness, guilt, and danger, they should at 
once, and at the risk of all things, tear their souls 
from earth away, give up all, look to the cross 



CAUSES OF REGENERATION-. 87 

of Christ, and fully trust in the atoning merits of 
Immanuel, as their only hope of pardon and accept- 
ance with God.- If sinners will thus submit to 
God, they shall obtain mercy, and find grace to 
help them ; but if not, they shall unavoidably be 
damned. 

Now, sinners, lay this well to heart, 

And turn without delay ; 
O hasten to the Saviour's arms, 

Whilst it is called to-day. 

It is your wisdom so to do ; 

'Twill be your interest, too : 

Then be entreated now to come 

To Christ who died for you. 



88 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 



SERMON IV. 

SHOWING THE INCONCLUSIVE EVIDENCES OR MARKS 
OF REGENERATION. 

John 3 : 7. — " Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be 
born again." 

Having shown you, in the three preceding ser^ 
mons what regeneration is not, what it is, and 
the several causes of it, we shall now proceed to 
treat of, 

3dly. The evidences or marks of regeneration. 

These, for the sake of perspicuity or clearness, 
we shall divide into inconclusive and conclusive evi- 
dences. In this discourse we shall show the in- 
conclusive evidences of regeneration. 

By inconclusive evidences, I mean such evi- 
dences, signs, or marks as may and often do per- 
tain to both the regenerate and unreo;enerate ; 
and, therefore, do not clearly, fully, and conclu- 
sively show or prove a regenerate state. Among 
these we reckon and enumerate the following, to 
wit : 

1. Special gifts. 

2. Great privileges. 

3. Much knowledge. 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 89 

4. Church membership. 

5. Morality of conduct. 

6. Plainness of dress. 

7. An approving conscience. 

8. Tenderheartedness. 

9. Hatred to sin. 

10. Delight in God's Word. 

11. Secret and family prayer. 

12. Sanctification of the Lord's day. 

13. Alms, or relief to the poor. 

14. Observance of Church ordinances. 

1 5. Zeal in the cause of benevolence and re- 
ligion. 

16. Success and prosperity in matters of benevo- 
lence and religion. 

17. Persecution for religion. 

18. Patience in tribulation. 

19. Reputation for piety. 

20. Strong hopes of heaven. 

21. Willingness to die. 

These then are some of the inconclusive evi- 
dences of regeneration, or the new birth. Let us 
briefly consider them in regular order. 

1. Special or extraordinary gifts we say do not 
prove a man to be in a regenerate state. 

Gifts are twofold, natural and spiritual : and a 
person may be endowed with both in an extraor- 
dinary manner, and yet be in a carnal and unre- 
generate state. 

(a.) He may possess great natural gifts — a strong 
constitution, a sound mind, a prodigious memory, 



iK) EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

a pleasant voice, and a fluent tongue ; and yet 
withal a graceless soul. Cain was a gifted rea- 
soner: "Am I my brother's keeper," etc.; and 
yet he was a murderer. Gen. 4:9. Noah's car- 
penters had mechanical skill and gifts to help to 
build an ark to save others, whilst they them- 
selves were all drowned. Some of the old Scribes 
and Pharisees also were men of great gifts and 
splendid attainment ; nevertheless they are called 
by one who could read them without a stop, " hypo- 
crites," " whited sepulchres," " serpents," " a gen- 
eration of vipers," etc. Matt. 23 : 27-33. 

(b.) He may likewise have great spiritual gifts; 
as the gift of praying and prophesying, etc., and, 
notwithstanding, be entirely graceless. Balaam 
uttered a clear and remarkable prophecy of Christ: 
"There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a 
Sceptre shall rise out of Israel ; I shall see him, 
but not now ; I shall behold him, but not nigh." 
Num. 24 : 17 : and yet Balaam had neither lot nor 
part in him of whom he prophesied. 

Judas also had miraculous gifts: he cast out 
devils and did many mighty works, Luke 9:10; 
and yet " he has gone to his own place." Acts 
1:25. 

The "workers of iniquity " which we read of, 
Matt. 7 : 22, had extraordinary gifts : " Many will 
say to me in that day," etc., and yet Christ will 
say to them, " I never knew you, depart from 



me." 



Paul tells us, 1 Cor. 13:1,2: "Though I speak 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 91 

with the tongues of men and of angels ; and though 
I have the gift of prophecy ; and though I have 
all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and 
have not charity, I am nothing." 

Again, we are told, that the false prophet 
wrought miracles before the beast ; that is, the 
corrupters of religion performed miracles before 
the apostates from religion ; and yet " both were 
cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brim- 
stone." Eev. 19 : 20. 

44 Gifts," says Mathew Mead, 44 are for the use 
and good of others ;" they are given in ordina ad 
alium, as the schoolmen speak, for the profiting 
and edifying of others ; so, says the apostle, they 
are given to profit withal. 1 Cor. 12: 7. 

God may use a man's gift to bring others to 
Christ, when he himself, whose gifts God uses, 
may be a stranger to Christ, and, finally, a cast- 
away. 

44 Scultelus tells us of one John Speiserus, a 
famous preacher of Augsburg, in Germany, in the 
year 1523, who preached the Gospel so powerfully, 
that a great many common harlots were converted 
and became good Christians ; and yet himself 
afterwards turned papist, and came to a miserable 
end." 

2. Great spiritual privileges are no sign of a re- 
generate state. 

God favors all his people as a general thing with 
high and distinguished privileges. See Deut. 28 : 
1-12. 



92 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

But the simple fact of being thus favored does 
not argue a gracious state. We read of some, as 
the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Caper- 
naum, who were exalted to heaven in point of 
privileges, and yet were thrust down to hell. The 
Jews boasted much of the honor and privilege of 
being Abraham's children ; and yet Christ tells 
them plainly that they were of their father the 
devil. See Matt. 3:7; John 8 : 44. Paul also tells 
of those, Rom. 9:4, 5, who were " Israelites, to 
whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and 
the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the 
service of God, and the promises ; whose are the 
fathers, and of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ 
came, who is over all, God blessed forever ;" and 
notwithstanding all these great privileges, many 
of them were punished with a sore and everlast- 
ing destruction from the presence of the Lord. 

Just so it is with many at the present day. 
They enjoy great temporal and spiritual privileges, 
and they highly value and congratulate themselves 
on account of the liberties, Sabbaths, sermons, 
ordinances, and civil and religious principles which 
they enjoy. But let it be remembered that tares 
may be in the same field with wheat, enjoying the 
same benefit of the sun, rain, air, and earth, and 
yet be tares still. Many may claim church mem- 
bership, and eat bread and drink wine at the 
Lord's table, but do it unworthily. "In Christ 
Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor 
uncircumcision, but a new creature." Gal. 6:15. 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 93 

3. Much knowledge is no evidence of a regenerate 
state. Knowledge is fourfold, viz.: 1. Natural. 
Eom. 1:21; Jude 10. 2. Artificial. Ex. 35:31. 
3. Legal. Rom. 3:20; 7:7. 4. Evangelical or 
spiritual. 2 Cor. 2: 14. 

Now, although all regenerate persons have more 
or less knowledge, still there may be much knowl- 
edge, and all kinds of knowledge — natural, arti- 
ficial, legal, and evangelical, — and withal no change 
of state and of the " Spirit of the mind." The 
Scribes and Pharisees had much knowledge: " Be- 
hold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, 
and makest thy boast of God, and knowest his 
will ;" and yet, so far from being regenerate, they 
were called, and properly too, " a generation of 
vipers." See Eom. 2 : 17, 18 ; Matt. 23 : 33. 

The heathen had much knowledge ; for the 
apostle says, Eom. 1 : 21, " When they knew God, 
they glorified him not as God, neither were thank- 
ful, but became vain in their imaginations, and 
their foolish heart was darkened." 

Hence, then, we perceive that a man may have 
much knowledge of God and his will ; yea, and as 
Paul says, 1 Cor. 13 : 2, " All knowledge ;" and yet 
lack a disposition to obey God by doing his will. 
Knowledge may fill the head, whilst Satan, " the 
strong man armed," keepeth the palace of the 
heart. Luke 11:21. Where then is the wise? 
Where is the Scribe ? Where the man that seera- 
eth to be wise in this world ? Let him become a 
fool that he may be wise in Christ ; " Who of God 



94 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and 
sanctification, and redemption." 1 Cor. 1: 30. 

4. Church membership, or a profession of religion, 
is no proof of regeneration. 

All that are regenerated, we believe, will come 
out and make a profession of religion by uniting 
with the church. This was uniformly and uni- 
versally the case in the days of the apostles. And 
wherever this duty is neglected, there is reason to 
fear that something is yet radically wrong. John 
12:42; Matt. 10:31. But still the performance 
of this duty, the making of a profession of religion, 
or uniting with the church, does by no means fur- 
nish conclusive evidence of a spiritual birth. 

" All are not Israel that are of Israel." Rom. 
9:6. 

" He is not a Jew that is one outwardly." Rom. 
2:28. 

And as not every one that is clothed in uniform, 
and carries a musket, or wears a sword, is a sol- 
dier ; so neither is every professor and church 
member a sound believer and a true convert. 

The Scriptures also speak of some that have "a 
form of godliness, but deny the power." 2 Tim. 
3 : 5. Such were many of the old Pharisees and 
Sadducees. Such was that haughty and boasting 
Pharisee who went up with the publican to the 
temple. Luke 18 : 11. Such was the young law- 
yer who came to Christ, asking, " Good Master, 
what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life ?" 
Luke 18: 18. Such was Paul before his conver- 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 95 

sion. Such were the Laodiceans. Rev. 3:17. 
Such the. foolish virgins, Matt. 25 : 3 ; and many 
others in days of old. And such are many modern 
professors of religion. They have been baptized 
(or perhaps rantized) in the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; they are 
regular churchgoers ; they hear the word with 
joy, like the stony ground hearers ; they often go 
to the Lord's table, but they have never been born 
again. Nicodemus-like, "they know not these 
things." Yea, and some of them, like Paul before 
his conversion, are "persecutors of this way." 

The profession of religion, therefore, and the 
experience of it, or the life of God in the soul, are 
two very different things. The name and nature 
of Christ are both good ; but the name without 
the nature profiteth little. Men should have th§ 
Spirit of Christ before they name the name of 
Christ. Dear hearers, how stands this matter 
with you ? Are you transformed by the renewal 
of your minds? Are you partakers of the divine 
nature ? If not, your empty lamps of profession, 
— your nominal church membership, — your Lord, 
Lord, saying will be wholly unavailing in the day 
. of Christ without a change of heart. 

5. Morality, or propriety of conduct, is no cer- 
tain evidence of the new birth. Some have erro- 
neously supposed, as we stated in our first sermon, 
that reformation or morality of life constituted 
regeneration itself; but so far from being that, it 
is not even a conclusive evidence thereof. The 



96 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

young man in the Gospel was moral and outwardly 
religious from youth up; yet the Saviour told him 
he lacked one thing, viz., a radical change of the 
inner man, or the new birth. So it is with many 
now, who build all their hopes on the propriety of 
their outward behavior. They are civil, honest, 
and well behaved, but they art not spiritual, be- 
cause they are not " born of the Spirit." Moral- 
ity may be the result of education, custom, fear, or 
restraining grace ; but regeneration is the result 
of a divine influence. The soul that would go to 
heaven must be born of " water and of the Spirit." 
Dear hearers, it may be you are no swearers, no 
liars, no drunkards, no defaulters, no thieves, no 
adulterers or adulteresses, nor justly chargeable 
with any other vile immorality ; yet your moral 
conduct, however good and commendable in itself, 
will give you no title claim to the kingdom of 
God. Therefore, do not rest your hope of heaven 
on the " sandy foundation" of outward morality, 
or moral rectitude between man and man. 

6. Plainness of dress is no proof of a gracious 
state. This like civility or propriety of conduct, 
and other good things, is highly commendable in 
all who "name the name of Christ," or who pro- 
fess to be his people, because it belongs to religion, 
and is an effect of grace ; nevertheless, it may 
sometimes, like other things, be the mere creature 
of education or custom. In some denominations 
there is so much stress laid upon these things, that 
uniformity of speech and dress become character- 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 97 

istic of these societies. And hence the good and 
bad, the regenerate and the unregenerate, are all 
alike, so far as outward appearance is concerned. 
Under these circumstances, therefore, and indeed 
under no circumstances, can plainness be regarded 
as an infallible sign of regeneration. 

Howbeit, let me exhort you, my Christian hear- 
ers, in the language of Holy * Writ, "Mind not 
high things, but condescend to men of low estate." 
Rom. 12:16. "What is highly esteemed among 
men (like gayety and costly apparel) is an abomi- 
nation in the sight of God." Luke 16: 15. But 
on the other hand bear in mind that the heart is 
the seat of true religion, and not the habiliment. 
There is a vast difference between " a pure heart," 
and " a plain dress." A man's raiment may be all 
right, and yet his heart all wrong. The Lord, it 
is said, seeth not as man seeth. " Man looketh on 
the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on 
the heart." 1 Sanii. 16: 7. Search, therefore, and 
see first of all, " whether your heart is right in the 
sight of God." Acts 8:21. Whether you have 
put on the new man, " which after God is created 
in righteousness and true holiness." Eph. 4 : 24. 

7. An approving, or rather an unaccusing con- 
science, is no sure criterion of a renewed state. 
Conscience, or the moral sense, is implanted in 
man for high and noble purposes. It is the 
" candle of the Lord," or the vicegerent of God in 
the soul, and on its shoulders rest in a great meas- 
ure the government of the inner and outer man. 

G 



98 • EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

But, like the soul itself, it is naturally darkened 
and polluted by sin, and must therefore be en- 
lightened and purged by divine grace, in order 
that it may answer in all respects the end for 
which it was created. Accordingly, we read of 
" an evil" and a "good conscience." " An evil 
conscience " is a natural conscience ; a " good con- 
science " is a sanctified one. The dictates of a nat- 
ural conscience must, therefore, from the nature 
of things, be exceedingly uncertain and delusive. 
Conscience may give in false testimony, either 
through its blindness, sleepiness, security, or sear- 
edness. Hence, obedience to the dictates of a 
natural conscience gives no sufficient evidence of a 
gracious state. 

It is, in fact, no infallible rule to go by in mat- 
ters of religion. It is purblind, and savors not 
of the things of God. Hence, Christ told his 
disciples, that the time would come, that they 
who killed them should think they did God ser- 
vice. John 16 : 2. Paul's conscience told him 
that it was his duty to persecute the disciples, 
and to suppress Christianity. " I verily thought," 
said he, " with myself, that I ought to do many 
things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth ; 
which thing I also did," etc. Acts 26 : 9, 10, 11. 
"Who then in the face of these Scriptures can con- 
sistently take the position, that to follow u the 
light within," or to obey the dictates of a natural 
conscience, furnishes conclusive evidence of a re- 
generate state ? 



EVIDENCES OF REGENER ATION. 99 

Such a doctrine as this would have us to believe 
that persecutors and murderers can be Christians. 
"Wiiat a glaring absurdity ! And yet, there are 
multitudes who flatter themselves that all is well, 
simply because they follow the dictates of their 
natural conscience. 

A certain author has justly said, " Conscience 
is indeed a rule, but regula regulata prius quarn 
regulans: such a rule as must be ruled by God's 
Word, before it can be a right rule for our con- 
duct. To the law and to the testimony, if con- 
science speak not according to these, it is because 
there is no true light in it. Scripture is the 
compass by which conscience must bend its course, 
or else it will never land its passengers at the de- 
sired haven." Is it a rational argument that I am 
in my Prince's favor, because I obey my captain, 
when he is a traitor? Dear hearers, do not be 
cheated, duped and ruined by taking this ignis 
fatuus as an infallible rule of life. 

8. Tenderness of heart is no mark of grace. By 
this we mean tender and excitable feelings. These 
are twofold, natural and gracious. Christians are 
all more or less tenderhearted. But they are so, 
because they have by a new and heavenly birth 
received the Spirit of Christ. Christ was full of 
tender emotions. He often wept and groaned in 
the Spirit. He was also " very pitiful and of 
tender mercy." James 5:11. Now, as he was, 
so are Christians in this world." 1 John 4:17. 
However unfeeling, hardhearted, and insensible 



100 EVIDENCES OF KEGENER ATION. 

they may have been in their unconverted state, 
this, with other old things has passed away in the 
work and process of regeneration ; so that now 
they are made conformable to the tenderhearted 
Jesus. 

But sinners may sometimes also weep and show 
tender feelings. Some ministers, therefore, are 
much more in the habit of addressing themselves 
to the passions than to the understanding and 
conscience of men. And if they can only raise an 
excitement, or excite great emotions, they are 
ready to conclude they have done great things. 
But let it be remembered, that not every weeping 
sinner is a penitent sinner. Esau,* Ishmael,t 
^Samson's wife,;}; and the merchants of the earth, § 
all wept and showed strong and tender emotions ; 
yet, who will say they were regenerated ? The 
fact is, many persons are naturally tender and feel- 
ing. Their passions are easily moved. They can 
soon be made to weep, and soon to sin. Their 
tears and tender emotions, therefore, are no signs 
of a new and holy heart. "Whilst, therefore, ten- 
derheartedness ought to be carefully sought, and 
highly appreciated by the followers of Christ, yet 
it ought never to be relied on as a proof of the 
new birth. 

9. Hatred to sin is no evidence of conversion or 
of the new birth. The unregenerate, as well as 



* Gen. 27 : 33. f Jer. 41 : 6. % Judges 14 : 36. \ Kev. 18 : 15-19. 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 101 

the regenerate, may hate sin, though not for the 
same reasons. 

The regenerate hate sin because it offends God, 
wounds Christ, grieves the Spirit, wrongs the soul, 
and tends to subvert the government of God. 

The unregenerate may hate, sin, 

1. Because of the shame and disgrace that 
attends it. Absalom hated Amnon's lewdness, 
though he himself was a wicked man, because it 
brought shame upon him and his sister. 2 Sam. 
13 : 22. For the same reason identically, do many 
at the present day hate disgraceful sins, such as 
drunkenness, theft, fornication, etc. 

2. They may hate sin, because of a contrariety 
of lust. " A man may hate one sin as being con- 
trary to another. When one lust gets to be the 
master lust in the soul, then it may, and often 
does, work a hatred to its contrary. For instance : 
where covetousness becomes the dominant lust of 
the heart, there the heart begets a hatred to pride 
and prodigality ; and where pride gets to be the 
master lust, then the heart hates covetousness," 
etc. 

From these and. other causes men in an unre- 
generate state, may, and do sometimes abhor sin 
of one kind or another ; though perhaps never all 
sin, nor for the evil that there is in sin. Their 
nature is to love sin, and were it not for warring 
lusts, it would never be otherwise. Hatred, there- 
fore, to some sins, is no evidence of a gracious 
state. 

9 



102 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

10. Delight in God's Word is no conclusive evi- 
dence of piety, because saints and sinners may both 
take delight therein. 

Saints delight in the word and ordinances of 
God, because they are from heaven, because they 
are congenial to their nature, and because they 
are the medium of communication with God. 

Sinners, or unregenerate men, delight therein 
from motives of selfishness. Because it may pro- 
mote their interests or popularity ; or because of 
the eloquence of the preachers, or some other 
sordid consideration. Many delight not so much 
in the doctrines and duties that are preached, as 
in the dress they are delivered in. Thus it is said 
of the prophet Ezekiel, that he was to the people 
in his day, " as a very lovely song of one that had 
a pleasant voice." Ezek. 33 : 32. And it is said of 
some ancient formalists, " That they took delight 
iu approaching to God." Isa. 58 : 2. It is also 
said of the stony ground hearers, " That they re- 
ceived the word with joy." Matt. 13 : 20. " Herod," 
it is said," heard John gladly." Mark 6: 20. From 
this then we perceive that men may greatly delight 
in, and be full of joy under the word and ordi- 
nances of God, and yet be empty and destitute of 
the grace of God in the heart. Dear hearers, be- 
ware that your joy be not the joy of the hypocrite. 

11. Secret and family prayer does not decide the 
question of regeneracy. All that are born of God 
are praying people. This is their well-known 
character in all ages. They pray always with all 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 103 

prayer, — of course they will regularly maintain 
" secret and family prayer. 75 This is included in 
the phrase " all prayer." And they do so, because 
they love to do it ; because they delight to please 
God ; because they are needy and dependent crea- 
tures ; and because prayer is the appointed means 
of procurement. But there are a great many who 
pray both in private and in public, not because 
they love to pray nor because they delight to 
honor God, nor yet because they feel themselves 
needy and dependent. 

No, their chief motives are to keep conscience 
quiet, or, as they think, escape punishment and 
to procure help ; or as the Scripture saith, " To 
be seen of men." Thus we are told the Scribes 
and Pharisees prayed : " Woe unto you Scribes 
and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' 
houses, and for a pretence make long prayer; 
therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation." 
Matt. 23 : 14. These very things we fear drive 
many up to the duty of prayer at the present day, 
who after all know nothing of spiritual regenera- 
tion. If men do not pray at all, it may be taken 
as proof positive that they are not the children of 
God ; but if they do pray, and pray much, they 
cannot thence conclude with certainty that they 
are. I know some men, the more they sin, the 
more they pray ; and some who are never more 
religious, seemingly, than when they are half 
drunk. Verily, this looks like trying to go to 
heaven per fas et nefas. 



104 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

12. The sanctification of the Lord's day does not 
determine the state of men to be spiritually good. 

The institution of the Sabbath is unquestionably 
from heaven 4 , and is of perpetual and universal 
obligation, because moral in its nature. The ob- 
servance of the Lord's day is in every aspect 
political, moral, and religions, a privilege and a 
blessing. But the keeping of this day no more 
proves a man regenerate than the singing of psalms 
and hymns proves him an angel. 

There are some people exceedingly strict with 
regard to the sanctification of the Sabbath, and 
then in other respects they are miserably lax and 
latitudinarian in their faith and manners. Surely 
this is not as it should be. The people of God 
ought to remember the Sabbath day to keep it 
holy, and to desecrate God's day ought never to 
be once tolerated amongst them ; but then they 
are not to suppose that the keeping of the Sab- 
bath proves a regenerate state. 

13. Alms, or relief to the poor, is no evidence of 
a state of grace. 

" The poor," says Christ, "ye have always with 
you." Hence the duty of almsgiving, like the 
Sabbath, is of perpetual and universal obligation •• 
and the saints are never without an opportunity 
to show the fulness of their almsdeeds. True 
Christianity is a liberalizing, diffusive and expan- 
sive principle. It is practically illustrated in the 
character and conduct of the good Samaritan: 
Luke 10 : 33-37 ; Cornelius the Centurion : Acts 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 105 

10 : 1, 2 ; Dorcas : Acts 9 : 39 ; Paul and others : 
Gal. 2 : 10. Now, although it is undeniably true, 
that no man who is penurious, miserly and stingy, 
can have the spirit of true religiqn ; yet it is 
equally certain, notwithstanding, that a man may 
be liberal and " give all his goods to feed the poor," 
and still be no Christian. The fact is, some people 
are naturally humane, liberal and benevolent ; but 
this natural benevolence, however commendable 
and praiseworthy in itself, does not make a man 
righteous, and prove him regenerated. 

14. A regular observance of the sealing ordinances 
of God's house is no decisive mark of a gracious 
state. A person may be baptized in the name of 
the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; 
and he may regularly wash the saints' feet, and 
commune at the Lord's table, and yet be entirely 
ignorant of the knowledge of salvation by regen- 
eration and adoption. Many suppose themselves 
regenerated, because they have been buried with 
Christ in baptism ; and others conclude this from 
the fact that they are regular communicants. 
But, my hearers, be not deceived. The institu- 
tions of Christ are all good things. Baptism, feet- 
washing, and the Lord's Supper, especially, are 
solemn and important Christian ordinances. But 
they cannot change the heart. And the obser- 
vance of them is no conclusive evidence of a change 
of heart. The fact is, none should presume to 
attend to any of these ordinances until they are 
converted. And then when they feel and know 



106 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

that they are created anew in Christ Jesus, they 
will have an abiding disposition to obey God in 
all his precepts and ordinances. This new and 
holy disposition, and not the observing of the 
ordinances, abstractly considered, is the best evi- 
dence of a spiritual and sanctified nature. 

15. Zeal in the cause of benevolence and religion is 
no sign of the new birth. 

Zeal, genuine zeal, in every good cause, and 
especially in the cause of religion, is highly com- 
mendable and useful. Yet it ought to be recol- 
lected, that there are different kinds of zeal, a false 
and spurious, as well as a true and genuine zeal ; 
and likewise, that men may be zealous from dif- 
ferent motives. Before, therefore, we can properly 
determine a person's state by the zeal which he 
exhibits, we must know whether his zeal is true or 
false, and whether it is prompted by good or bad 
motives. Jehu was zealous against Baal and his 
priests, because that was Ahab's sin, but not 
against the calves of Bethel, because that was his 
own. 2 Kings 10 : 16. 

" The Jews were zealous, but not according to 
knowledge." Rom. 10:2. 

Paul was zealous before as well as after his con- 
version : " I was zealous toward God, as ye all 
are this day, and I persecuted this way unto the 
death." Acts 22:3, 4. Again he says, "I per- 
secuted the Church of God, and wasted it ; and 
profited in the Jews' religion above many my 
equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 107 

zealous of the traditions of my fathers." Gal. 1 : 
13, 14. 

Here, then, are a few specimens of false zeal. 
Such spurious zealots there are yet among men. 
Some are more zealous for the machinations of 
men than for the institutions of God. Others 
are zealous in the cause of benevolence and relig- 
ion ; but like Jehu, Saul, and others, from selfish 
and unholy motives. 3 Sam. 15: 1, 9, 15. Zeal, 
therefore, in itself considered, apart from the cause 
in which it is displayed, and the motives which 
prompt it, furnishes no conclusive evidence of a 
regenerate state. I 

16. Success and prosperity in the cause of benevo- 
lence and religion is no evidence of regeneration. 

As zeal is commendable, so success is desirable, 
in every good cause we espouse ; but neither con- 
clusively proves a regenerate state. The former I 
have already shown ; the latter shall be made to 
appear. 

The " little horn," we are told, " waxed exceed- 
ing great ;" " and it practiced and prospered." 
Dan. 8:9-12. 

Judas, in his ministry, for aught that appears to 
the contrary, was just as successful as any of the 
rest of the apostles. 

I know two ministers of the Gospel, within two 
hundred miles from this place, who had revivals 
in their churches before their conversion, and who 
were led by the success of their own labors, in part 
at least, to seek the salvation of their own souls. 



108 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

I have heard and read of others whose labors were 
crowned with similar success, prior to their own 
conversion. The same will apply to temperance 
lecturers, tract distributors, etc. Let no one con- 
clude, therefore, omnia bene, all is well, because 
they are, or have been, successful and prosperous 
in matters of religion, or in any good cause. 

17. Persecution for religion is no positive proof 
of a regenerate state. Since the days of Cain, men 
of all ages have been wont to persecute one another, 
and for nothing more than for their religion — an 
invincible proof of human depravity. And those 
w4io have had the purest and best system of relig- 
ion, have always had to suffer most ; whilst those 
who have been most corrupt in their principles and 
practices, have very generally betrayed the greatest 
degree of malevolence and the most violent spirit 
of persecution. Sometimes, however, the less has 
been persecuted by the greater, or the weak by the 
strong, not because there was any essential differ- 
ence in the purity of their religion, but because of 
envy and superior strength, whilst at the same 
time they were both alike corrupt, and equally 
afar removed from the true standard of experi- 
mental and practical righteousness. 

So that the simple fact of men being persecuted 
does not prove them in a renewed or gracious state. 
Some men provoke their own sufferings. They are 
persecuted not for their " well doing," but for their 
"evil doing." ISTot, however, by the truly pious. 
These never persecute. The spirit of persecution 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 109 

always identifies men with, the children of this 
world, or with false professors and a corrupt 
Church : but the suffering of persecution does not 
necessarily identify them with the children of God, 
or with the true Church. Whilst the persecuted, 
therefore, have no right to conclude on that ac- 
count, that they are certainly born again, simply 
because they are persecuted, persecutors may, 
nevertheless, know to a certainty that they are 
not. 

18. Patience under suffering and provocation fur- 
nishes no conclusive evidence of a regenerate state. 

" Many," we are told, " are the afflictions," or 
tribulations and trials " of the righteous." Pa. 34 : 
19. The most of these, if not all, are calculated 
and designed to try " the faith and patience of the 
saints." And those who are righteous, or saints 
in reality, will not fail to show it by their patience 
and long-suffering. And this they do m Christ's 
strength, and for Christ's sake. This patience, 
therefore, is a note of sincerity and ^ sign of grace. 

But then there is a patience under sufferings and 
tribulations that is the mere plant of nature. It 
grows out of a stout constitution and a .Roman 
resolution — or out of vainglory, or some other 
selfish end. Then, my dear hearers, be not de- 
ceived. The question is not, art thou patient amid 
earthly sorrows and tribulations, but art thou born 
of God? 

19. Reputation for "piety does not fully show a 
gracious state. 

10 



110 EVIDENCES OF REGENER ATION. 

Unregenerate men sometimes make high preten- 
sions to sanctity, and by specious acts and flatter- 
ing words they deceive the hearts of the simple. 
Among these, therefore, they may easily acquire a 
high reputation for piety. Like Simon Magus, 
they may be looked upon by the populace, yea, and 
by some real saints, as great and good men, whilst 
at the same time they are in " the gall of bitter- 
ness and bonds of iniquity." How many have 
there been who were cried up to be very rich, and 
who kept up a great appearance, when suddenly 
we have heard of their bankruptcy. So many may 
be considered rich in grace, and heirs of the king- 
dom of God, because they make a fair show in the 
flesh, with imposing form, or bodily exercises, 
when on a sudden they break, or fall away. 

How much were the eleven apostles deceived in 
Judas ! When Peter, as their foreman or mouth- 
piece, speaks of their faith, Judas is included, 
John 6 : 69 : " We believe, and are sure, that thou 
art Christ, the Son of the living God." When 
he speaks of their good works, Judas is not ex- 
cepted: " Behold, we have forsaken all and fol- 
lowed thee." Matt. 19:27. And even when a 
traitor is mentioned, Judas is not suspected ; his 
deportment was so fair, that they were more jealous 
of their own hearts than of him. Matt. 26 : 22. 
And yet he was a traitor and a devil. 

How was holy Paul mistaken in t)emas ! At 
one time he embraced the ministry, and was 
Paul's fellow-laborer. Phil. 24. Subsequently he 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. Ill 

embraced or fell in love with this present world, 
and forsook Paul. 2 Tim. 4 : 10. 

Thus we have reason to fear it is with many at 
the present day ; they have a high reputation for 
piety among men, whilst they are sheer hypocrites 
before God. " The outside of the cup and platter " 
is well enough, but the "inside" is still defiled. 
Hence, those who judge by the outward appear- 
ance will account them children of God, whilst in 
fact they are unregenerated and children of the 
wicked one. Dear hearers, do not live altogether, 
as some tradesmen, on your credit with others. 
Look not to others' commendation, but to your own 
regeneration, for that alone accompanies salvation. 

20. Strong hopes of heaven is no infallible evidence 
of regeneration. 

Hope is common to all men, in some sense, who 
are not in actual despair. But there are different 
kinds of hope. There is a good hope, and there is 
a false hope. A good hope is — 1st. A gracious or 
living hope. 1 Pet. 1 : 3. 2dly. A well-founded 
hope. Col. 1 : 27. Heb. 6 : 19. 1 Pet. 3:15. 3dly. 
A purifying hope. 1 John 3 : 3. 4thly. A cheering 
and joyful hope. Eom. 5 : 2. Such a hope as this 
"inaketh not ashamed," because it is ''the anchor 
to the soul, both sure and steadfast." Heb. 6:19. 

But, then, as there is a true hope, so there is a 
false hope ; and this is more common than that, 
even as bastard pearls are more common than true 
pearls. 

" There is," saith Solomon, " that maketh him- 



112 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION 

self rich, yet hath nothing." Prov. 13 : 7. That 
is, there are some that think they love God ; they 
hope that they have religion, and that they will 
one day get to heaven, when, alas ! " they are dead 
in trespasses and sins," utterly ignorant and desti- 
tute of a work of grace, and ready to fall from 
their high turret of presumption into the bottom- 
less gulf of perdition. The Jews in the days of 
Christ, almost en masse, had strong hopes of heaven, 
when at the same time, as the Saviour told them, 
" they were doing the works of their father, the 
devil." John 8 : 44. 

Paul tells us, that " he was alive once without 
the law ;' that is, " his way was right in his own 
eyes ; " he imagined all was well, and he would 
surely get to heaven , when, in fact, everything 
was ill with him, and there was but a step be- 
tween him and hell. Howbeit, by the grace of 
God, he was plucked as a brand from the burning. 
My beloved hearers, build not your hopes on any- 
thing short of a saving interest in Christ. 

21. Willingness to die is no sure sign and evi- 
dence of regeneration. 

Grace prepares for death and heaven ; and those 
who are fully prepared for their exit from time to 
a blissful immortality, die not only willingly, but 
peacefully, joyfully, and triumphantly. But, 
through various other causes, men are sometimes 
found willing, yea, anxious to die, who, notwith- 
standing, are entirely unprepared for death and 
heaven. Some may be willing to die, on account of 



EVIDENCES OF REGENER ATION. 113 

bodily afflictions ; some on account of temporal losses 
and difficulties ; others by reason of old age, perse- 
cutions, loss of character, children, friends, etc. But 
that which tends, most of all, to beget this state of 
mind in the unregenerate, is ignorance; ignorance 
of the claims of God, of the work of grace, and 
of their own true character. Through ignorance 
and false hopes some are anxious to die, thinking 
tbat they would go to heaven, and be much better 
off there. Under strong delusions, the worst men 
have not only been willing to die, but anxiously 
desired and sought death. We have a striking 
instance of this recorded in the ninth chapter of 
the Revelations. Under the sound of the fifth 
trumpet, we are told that the locusts which came 
out of the smoke of the bottomless pit, were com- 
manded to torment, five months, those men who 
had not the seal of God in their foreheads (i[ e. 
wicked men) ; and that " in those days men shall 
seek death, and shall not find it ; and shall desire 
to die, and death shall flee from them. " Rev. 9 : 6. 
Hence the simple fact of men being willing, or 
even anxious to die, is no conclusive evidence at 
all that they are really regenerated and prepared 
to die. I have met with many, in the course of 
my ministry, some on sick-beds, others under other 
circumstances, who expressed a willingness and de- 
sire to die ; and yet, upon examination of their 
moral and religious character, they were found not 
only ignorant and destitute of " salvation through 
grace, 75 but even opposers and persecutors of "this 



114 EVIDENCES OF REGENER ATIOIT. 

way." Beware, then fellow-mortals, where and 
how you build your hopes of heaven ! Examine 
well the grounds of your hopes and prospects. If 
you have never repented ; if you are not born 
again ; if you are not holy, harmless, undenled, 
and separate from sinners, you have no Scriptural 
title-claim to the kingdom of everlasting life. 

As we have travelled over a great deal of ground 
in this discourse, and detained you somewhat over 
the usual time, we shall close for the present, by 
simply exhorting you, in the language of the 
apostle, " Be not deceived " in the great matter of 
regeneration. Of all delusions, religious delusion 
is the worst ; because it relates not to temporal 
matters only, but to spiritual and eternal things. 
And 0, how many have been deceived ! Think of 
the Lord, Lord sayers. Matt. 7 : 21-23. Think of 
the foolish virgins. Matt. 25 : 11, 12. Think of the 
old Scribes and Pharisees. Think of the thousands 
now, throughout Christendom, who have a form of 
godliness, and deny the power ; who have a name 
that they live, but are spiritually dead. Think of 
yourselves, my hearers. Have you any better 
reasons to believe that you are born again, than 
those of which you have heard to-night ? Put the 
question home to your own hearts. " Prove your 
own selves; for know ye not that Jesus Christ is 
in you, except ye be reprobates ? " 2 Cor. 13 : 5. 

If you will attend here next Lord's day evening, 
we shall (Providence permitting) try to show you 
some conclusive evidences of regeneration. 



EVIDENCES OF KEGENERATION. 115 



SEEMON V. 

SHOWING THE CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCES OF REGEN- 
ERATION. 

John 3 : 7. — " Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be 
born again." 

In the preceding sermon we endeavored to show 
the inconclusive evidences of the new birth. In 
this, we propose to consider the conclusive evi- 
dences or marks of this great change. 

By the inconclusive evidences, as we stated be- 
fore, those are intended which do not clearly, fully, 
and decisively prove a person to be in a regenerate 
state. Of these we treated at length in the pre- 
ceding discourse. 

But by the conclusive evidences, and of which 
we are now to treat, we mean those marks and 
evidences which give indubitable and undeniable 
proof of a regenerate state. Among these we 
may properly set down and reckon the following, 
to wit : 

1. Salvation from sin. 

2. Brotherly love. 

3. Love to enemies. 

4. Delight in God. 



116 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

5. The fruits and leadings of the Holy Spirit. 

6. Implicit and universal obedience to God. 

These are some of the indisputable and conclu- 
sive evidences of regeneration. Let us consider 
them in the order proposed. 

1st. Salvation from sin. The word sin has dif- 
ferent meanings in the Scripture. It is used to 
denote, 

1. Guilt or blameworthiness. As in Rom. 5 : 13, 
it is said : " Sin is not imputed where there is no 
law." See, also, Heb. 10 : 2 ; James 4 : 17, etc. 

2. Depravity, or man's carnal and corrupt nature, 
which is, as the Apostle says, the body of sins- 
Rom. 6:6; or, t6 <ja>i±a nrjq a/xapTtag, " The sinful body," 
or, as it is expressed in chapter 7 : 29, " the body 
of this death." See, also, Rom. 6 : 7, 12, 14 ; 7 : 8, 
17 ; 1 John 5 : 17, etc. 

3. Transgression, or an actual violation of God's 
law. This is its usual and general meaning. 1 
John 3:4," Sin is the transgression of the law." 
See likewise, Num. 5 : 6 ; 1 John 5:16; 3 : 6, 8, 
9, etc. 

Besides these meanings, the term is also taken 
in various other acceptations, which we forbear to 
notice at present. 

Now, because man is guilty, he must be justi- 
fied ; and because he is depraved, he must be re- 
generated ; and when he is justified and regener- 
ated, he will manifest and evidence the same by 
" ceasing to do evil," or refraining from actual 
sin. Hence the Apostle says, 1 John 3 : 9, "Who- 



EVIDENCES OP REGENERATION. 117 

soever is born of God doth not commit sin ; for his 
seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because 
he is born of God." And again, chapter 5 : 18, " We 
know whoever is born of God sinneth not." These 
passages have greatly perplexed and puzzled many 
modern divines and commentators ; not because 
there is anything ambiguous and hard to be under- 
stood in the language used by the apostle, but 
because the obvious and natural meaning of these 
passages comes directly in contact with, and flatly 
contradicts their popular and favorite dogma, 
"That no man can live without sinning daily in 
thought, word, and deed." 

The Bible nowhere gives countenance and sup- 
port to this pernicious dogma, but uniformly and 
universally supports the contrary, namely, that 
Christians are " freed from sin ;" Rom. 6:7; that 
they have " put off the old man, and put on the 
new," and, therefore, they " do not commit sin," 
yea, they " cannot sin." This, however, is not to 
be understood of natural, but of moral abilitv. 
Christians have the same natural ability to sin 
that they had previous to their conversion ; but 
being born of the Spirit after the image of God, 
they have no longer any moral ability to commit 
sin. It is contrary to their moral nature to sin, 
and, therefore, they " cannot sin." They have 
natural power to sin ; as, for instance, to swear, 
to steal, to rob, or to murder ; but their moral 
nature, being formed averse to these things by a 
new and heavenly birth, they have no inclination 



118 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

or relish for such crimes, but an utter disrelish 
and aversion to them, and, therefore, it may justly 
and properly be said that they " cannot sin/' 

The same doctrine, substantially, is taught in 
various other places. For instance, in the Gospel 
by John, 8th chapter and 36th verse, it is said, 
"If the Son, therefore, shall make you free, ye 
shall be free indeed." In Romans 6: 11, it is said, 
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead 
indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Being then made free from sin, 
and become servants to God, ye have your fruit 
unto holiness, and the end everlasting life" (22d v). 
Again, in the Epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle 
says, " They that are Christ's have crucified the 
flesh, with the affections and lusts." Ch. 5 : 24. But 
to cap the climax, Christ says expressly, " Every 
tree is known by his own fruit ; for a good tree 
bringeth not forth corrupt fruit ; neither doth a 
corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." Luke 6 : 
43, 44. 

And then, on the contrary, it is said, " Whoever 
committeth sin is the servant of sin." John 8 : 34. 
And, "He that committeth sin is of the devil." 1 
John 3 : 8. " In this," therefore, "the children of 
God are manifest, and the children of the devil." 
1 John 3 : 10. The children of the devil " live 
after the flesh," because they relish and delight in 
the " works of the flesh ;" but the children of God, 
who, by a heavenly birth, are made partakers of 
the divine nature, live after or according to the 



EVIDENCES OP REGENERATION. 119 

Spirit, because " they hate every false way," and 
love " the ways of truth." 

But then we are told that the Bible teaches the 
doctrine of peccability ; that is, that all men are 
liable to sin, and that none can live without* sin- 
ning. Now, if this be true, then the Bible must 
contradict itself; for we have already seen that 
the Bible promises salvation from sin, that it re- 
quires holiness of heart and life, and asserts it to 
be the privilege and duty of the saints to stand in 
awe and sin not. The Bible neither promises nor 
requires impossibilities. 

But let us hear what the advocates of sin have 
to say in defence of their cause. They refer us in 
the first place to 1 Kings 8 : 46; and to 2 Chron. 
6 : 36 ; where it is said, " There is no man that sin- 
neth not." Does Solomon, in this text, mean to 
say no carnal man, or no regenerate man ? If he 
meant the latter, he contradicts John — if the 
former, he agrees with him. The latter, therefore, 
must be the true meaning of the text. Again, we 
are referred to Prov. 24 : 16 : "A just man falleth 
seven times, and rises up again." Observe, it is 
not said that a just man falls seven times into sin. 
It may mean sickness, temptation, persecution, 
darkness, or something else. It does not neces- 
sarily mean sin. Again, it is said, Eccl. 7 : 20, 
64 There is not a just man upon earth that doeth 
good and sinneth not." I take this text to mean 
that there is not such a person, naturally or by 
nature. The taking of it otherwise makes it con.'- 



120 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

flict with other Scriptures, and therefore cannot 
be the correct interpretation. The true way to 
explain Scripture is by Scripture. This is the 
safest rule in the system of exegesis. And accord- 
ing to this rule the obvious meaning of the pas- 
sage is, that nature never has, never will, and 
never can produce a just man who always does 
right and never wrong. 

Again, the unbelievers in the doctrine of a sin- 
less life, quote Rom. 8 : 9-12, where it is said, 
" There is none righteous, no, not one — there is 
none that doeth good, no, not one. 55 These expres- 
sions are not to be interpreted to mean that there 
was not a solitary good and pious person on the 
face of the whole earth ; for that would involve a 
palpable contradiction of other passages ; but it 
simply means, as the scope of the passage shows, 
that depravity is universal, and that none, there- 
fore, whether Jews or Gentiles are righteous by 
blood or natural descent. Hence, as all are equally 
alike under sin, so all equally alike stand in need 
of " the righteousness of God, which is by faith in 
Jesus Christ," and that none can be justified but 
by the grace of God through the redemption that 
is in Christ Jesus. 

The text, 1 John 1:8, 10, is also quoted in evi- 
dence of the theory that saints are sinners, or that 
saints cannot live without committing sin. But 
let the seventh and ninth verses be read in con- 
nection with the eighth and tenth, and every mind 
of ordinary discernment will at once perceive 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 121 

that the only correct interpretation of the passage 
is, that the denial of original and actual sin is a 
daring and perfidious falsification of God's word, 
a virtual rejection of the blood of Christ, and an 
infallible token of a self-deceived and God-forsaken 
soul. This is all that the passage means, and not 
that Christians cannot be free from sin ; and that 
if they -say they are, they deceive themselves, make 
God a liar, and show that the truth is not in them, 
as some explain it. 

But the master proof by which this theory is 
supported is the seventh chapter of the Romans. 
To understand that chapter correctly, the question, 
whether the apostle there speaks of himself, and 
gives his own experience as a Christian, or whether 
he refers to the experience of a penitent under the 
law, must first be settled. We think that he refers 
to his experience as a penitent under the law, and 
not to his experience as a regenerated person. We 
come to this conclusion from the following consid- 
erations. 

1. From the general scope and design of the 
apostle in said chapter and context. This was to 
show the insufficiency of the law for justification 
and sanctification, and the sufficiency of the Gospel 
for both. Hence, in the fifth verse, he shows what 
they were naturally under the law, and in the 
sixth, what they were spiritually under the Gospel. 
He then gives his experience as an instance of the 
experience of every penitent or awakened sinner 
under the law, namely : that he found himself 



122 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

carnal and sold under ski, and yet his " inner man," 
or his reason and conscience, recognized the law as 
spiritual, and approved of it as holy, and just, and 
good ; but still such were the " motions of sin," 
or the strength of his inbred propensities to evil, 
that the good that he wished to do he could not 
do, and the evil which he did not wish to do, that 
he did. This painful captivity and subjection to 
the law of sin, or sinful propensities, which the 
law both discovered and condemned, but could not 
relieve, shut him up to the faith of the Gospel, 
and so led him to Christ. And hence, as he tells 
us in the beginning of the eighth chapter, " What 
the law could not do (save from sins) was effected 
by the Gospel. For the law of the spirit of life 
in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law 
of sin and death." That is, through the Gospel or 
Christian religion, I am made free from the con- 
trolling and predominating influence of sin ; so 
" that the righteousness of the law might be ful- 
filled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after: 
the Spirit." We conclude the same thing. 

2. From the nature of the work of regeneration. 
In regeneration man is changed from " the image 
of the earthly," to " the image of the heavenly." 
Love is the prominent attribute of this heavenly 
image. And whereas selfishness was once, love is 
now, the controlling principle. And love fulfils 
the law. See second sermon, commencing on page 
41. 

3. From the analogy of faith. Sinners are uni- 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION* 123 

formly described in precisely the same state in 
which the apostle represented himself in the 
chapter under consideration. Christians, on the 
other hand, are never so described ; but always as 
being delivered from, and having victory over sin, 
the world, and the devil. Sinners, whether Jews 
or Gentiles, are said to be under sin ; but Chris- 
tians, whether Jews or Gentiles, are said to be free 
from sin. Rom. 3 : 9 ; 6 : 18-22. 

How then, I ask, could the apostle be carnal and 
sold under sin, and, at the same time, be spiritual 
and free from sin ? In other words, how could he 
be a saint and a sinner at one and the same time ? 

But then we are told by the objector, that the 
apostle says in the twenty-second verse, " I delight 
in the law of God after the inward man ;" and 
this, it is affirmed, " shows that the apostle was 
not speaking of an unregenerate man. 5 ' As a 
refutation of this argument, see pages 101, 102. 

In short, the application of this chapter to Paul 
in his renewed state, and the consequent applica- 
tion of it to all persons indiscriminately in a con- 
verted state, is, in my judgment, not only grossly 
erroneous, but also, highly pernicious and ruinous 
to souls. The pure, noble, and exalted character 
everywhere disclosed and required in the Bible, 
clearly shows such a construction and application 
to be false and hurtful. It is an unwarrantable 
lowering of the standard of religion, and a daub- 
ing of carnal and nominal professors with untem- 
pered mortar. 



124 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

In view, then, of this subject, from first to last, 
with the Scriptures rightly explained, we have no 
difficulty to perceive^ that it is the privilege of the 
Christian to be saved from all sin ; and that this 
salvation from sin, and especially from actual 
transgression, is a clear and conclusive evidence of 
a regenerate state. An equally decisive evidence 
of the new birth is, 

2d. Brotherly love. By this is meant that mutual 
love which exists among Christians. And this 
love is the love of complacency, or the love of 
virtue. Christian brethren are virtuous beings. 
This virtuous character is the prime object of their 
mutual attraction and delight. Hence brotherly 
love, unlike benevolence, is directed towards the 
virtue of good beings, and not merely towards the 
happiness of intelligent beings. In the absence of 
a virtuous moral character, there can be no exer- 
cise of brotherly love. Christians, therefore, can- 
not exercise this affection towards sinners, because 
they have no virtuous character. But the regen-' 
erate all possess this character, and hence they 
love one another on that account. 

Now, from the Scriptures, and from the nature 
of the case, it is very evident that brotherly love 
furnishes a decisive proof of a regenerate state. 
Let us hear briefly the testimony of Christ and 
the apostles. Id the Gospel by John, 13 : 34, 35, 
Christ, says, "A new commandment I give unto 
you, That ye love one another; as I have loved 
you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 125 

men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love 
one to another." And again, in chap. 15: 12, he 
says, " This is my commandment, That ye love one 
another, as I have loved you." ]S"ow from these 
texts we learn two things, 

1. The measure of brotherly love. And what 
is that? It is to love one another as Christ loved 
them. And how did Christ love his disciples? He 
loved them heartily or sincerely, not in word and 
tongue only; he loved them impartially, or with- 
out respect to persons; and he loved them con- 
stantly, even to the end. This, then, is the rule 
and measure of Christian love. They are to love 
one another, in like manner as Christ loved them. 
AVe learn, 

2. That by this badge of discipleship, Christians 
are to be manifest or known to the world. "By 
this shall all men know that ye are my disciples." 
And if so ; if this attribute will make Christian 
character a subject of knowledge to mankind in 
general, it will not fail to give peculiar evidence 
of a regenerate state to Christians themselves. The 
materials of which a virtuous character is consti- 
tuted, must be clearly discernible, or the exercise 
of brotherly love will be impracticable. How can 
a man love an object before he knows it? And 
how can a Christian love a fellow-Christian before 
he knows him to be such? It is impossible. If 
we are required to love Christians for what they 
are, and not for the relation they bear to us ; nor 
because they are of our party, because they live 

11 



126 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

and act with us, and are profitable to us ; but be„ 
cause they are born of God, and wear his image ; 
then, surely, there must be some way of ascertain- 
ing that fact. One of these is here pointed out. 
It is "love to the brethren." Thus primitive 
Christians knew the fact. Heiace John says, " We 
know that we have passed from death to life, be- 
cause we love the brethren." " He that saith he 
is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in dark- 
ness even until now." 4< He that loveth his brother 
abideth in the light." "He that loveth not his 
brother abideth in death." "In this the children 
of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: 
w T hosoever doeth not righteousness is not of G-od, 
neither he that loveth not his brother." "If a 
man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is 
a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he 
hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not 
seen? And this commandment have we from him. 
That he who loveth God love his brother also." 
" If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and 
his love is perfected in us." 1 John 2 : 10, 11 ; 3 : 10, 
14 ; 4:20, 21. To these passages I add one more, 
which is the clearest and strongest proof of all, 
It is this — " Beloved, let us love one another: for 
love is of God ; and every one that loveth is born 
of God, and knoweth God." 1 John 4 : 7. 

These and other passages teach, in the clearest 
manner, that brotherly love is a distinguishing and 
conclusive mark of regeneration. If, then, we 
know with certainty that we possess and exercise 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 127 

this love, we know, with equal certainty, that we 
are born again. Let each one, then, examine his 
Christian character, and his claims to Christian 
brotherhood, by this indubitable criterion. Let 
him ask himself: Do I love good men for their 
goodness' sake? Do I love their company and 
their pious conversation ? Do I pray and labor 
for their holiness, happiness, and prosperity ? If 
so, you have one good evidence in your favor, that 
you are a child of God, and an heir to everlasting 
life. But if you are a persecutor and hater of 
God's people, then rest assured that you are yet in 
your sins, and in danger of an endless death. 

Another strong and decisive evidence of regen- 
eration is, 

3. Love to enemies. In one sense Christians may 
regard all to be their enemies who are not their 
friends. For Christ has said, " He that is not with 
me is against me." Matt. 12 : 30. This is equally 
true of his people. Everywhere they are spoken 
against. Acts 28 : 22. Yet there are some who 
are the avowed enemies of Christ and his people. 
By their fruits ye may know them. Their enmity 
is acted out by their scoffing, railing, slandering, 
lying, cursing, persecuting, and maltreating. " But 
marvel not," saith Christ, " if the world hate you, 
ye know that it hated me before it hated you." 
John 15 : 18. " For if they do these things in a 
green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Luke 
23 : 31. "Bew T are of men: for they will deliver 
you up to the councils, and they will scourge you 



128 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

in their synagogues. And ye shall be hated of all 
men for my name's sake." Matt. 10 : 17, 22. x4nd 
the apostle says, Gal. 4 : 28, 29, " Now we, brethren, 
as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as 
then he that was born after the flesh persecuted 
him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is 
now." 

These and other Scripture passages, together 
with the experience of Christians in all ages, fully 
show that the people of God always will have ene- 
mies. Sinners who hate God, will also hate the 
godly, or those who are born of God. But then, 
as God loves his enemies, and as Christ loves them, 
and has commanded his people to love them, it is 
of course their duty -and privilege to do so. John 
3:16; Rom. 5 : 8, 10 ; Matt. 23 : 37 ; Luke 23 : 34. 

The command of Christ on this subject is most 
emphatic : " But I say unto you, Love your enemies, 
bless them that curse you, do good to them that 
hate you, and pray for them which despiteful ly use 
you, and persecute you; that ye may be the chilr 
dren of your Father which is in heaven; for he 
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, 
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." 
" For if ye love them which love you, what thank 
have ye? for sinners also love those that love 
them." Matt. 5 : 44, 45 ; Luke 6 : 32.. Besides, in 
the moral law, we are required to " love our neigh- 
bor as ourselves." Under the term neighbor, our 
enemies may be considered as included. 

ence, then, we cannot fail to perceive that the 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 129 

Scriptures obviously require not merely the exer- 
cise of that love commonly called <Pdav0paj~ta, phi- 
lanthropy, and $dadek<pia, brotherly love, but also 
Ayawq^ charity, or disinterested benevolence. The 
two latter forms of love it is the peculiar privilege 
of the children of God to exercise. This beins; 
pre-eminently the character of God, Christians in 
this respect are "followers of God, as dear chil- 
dren." Of this truth we have a practical illustra- 
tion in the life and conduct of the apostles and 
primitive Christians, especially in Stephen, Paul, 
and others. Acts 7 : 60 ; 26 : 29. 

But what is it to love an enemy ? It is pre- 
cisely the same thing as to love a friend, save with 
this difference : in the one case our love is recipro- 
cated and becomes mutual, in the other it is not. 
Hence, to love an enemy requires disinterested 
benevolence. We are to do him good, and to pro- 
mote his happiness, independent from all selfish 
considerations, merely because he is an intelligent 
fellow-being, capable of becoming virtuous, useful, 
and happy. Eeligion is a diffusive principle; it 
naturally prompts him in whom it exists, to labor 
and pray for the happiness of his fellow-men, 
whether friends or foes. Therefore, the apostle 
says, Rom. 12 : 20 : " If thine enemy hunger, feed 
him ; if he thirst, give him drink : for in so doing 
thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head." And 
the Saviour says: "Whatsoever ye would that 
men should do to you, do ye even so to them : for 
this is the law and the prophets." Matt. 7 : 12. 



130 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

Compliance with these rules proves the existence 
of disinterested love, and consequently identifies 
us with " the children of our Father, which is in 
heaven." Matt. 5 : 45 

4. Delight or joy in God and godliness is another 
positive evidence of regeneration. 

Sinners, or the unregenerate, as we remarked 
before, may delight in God's Word and" outward 
ordinances of religion, because of self-interest, etc., 
but they cannot delight in God and true godliness. 
To do this requires grace — even regenerating grace. 
Eegeneration has to do mainly with the new- 
creating and regulating of the heart, from whence 
are the issues of life. This, by nature, " is de- 
ceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." 
Jer. 17 : 9. The w T hole tide of its feelings and af- 
fections runs swiftly out after the \vorld, and the 
things of the world. But not so with the re- 
generate heart. The new-born soul places his af- 
fections supremely on God, and the things of God ; 
and from thence flow his highest enjoyments. 

1. The regenerate joy and rejoice in God. Al- 
though every earthly stream of comfort and con- 
solation should dry up, yet they can adopt the 
language of the prophet in reference to Christ, 
and say, " I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my 
soul shall be joyful in my God ; for he hath clothed 
me with the garments of salvation, he hath 
covered me with the robe of righteousness." Isa. 
61:10. 

It is also said by Habakkuk, the prophet, " Al- 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 131 

though the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall 
fruit be in the vines ; the labor of the olive shall 
fail, and the fields shall yield no meat ; the flock 
shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be 
no herd in the stalls ; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, 
I will joy in the God of my salvation." Hab. 3 : 
17, 18. And again, the prophet Joel saith, " Be 
glad, then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the 
Lord your God." Joel 2 : 23. The Psalmist also 
says, " Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous. De- 
light thyself in the Lord." Ps. 33 : 1 ; Ps. 37 : 4. 
Paul in his epistle to the Philippians, says, " Re- 
joice in the Lord always ; and again I say, Rejoice." 
Phil. 4: 4. And in the Romans he says, "We also 
joy in God." Chapter 5: 11. Peter says, " In whom 
ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." 
1 Pet. 1 : 9. 

These passages plainly show that the saints of 
the Old and K"ew Testaments delighted greatly in 
the Lord their God, even as a bride delighteth in 
the bridegroom. But, 

2. The regenerate delight in the things of God ; 
such as the Word, the people, and the worship of 
God. They delight in these, not from sinister mo- 
tives, but because they are congenial to their na- 
ture. The royal Psalmist says, " I will delight my- 
self in thy commandments, which I have loved." 
"I delight in thy law." Ps. 119 : 47, 70. Again, 
speaking of the righteous, he says, " His delight is 
in the law of the Lord." Ps. 1 : 2. In the 16th 
Psalm he says, " But to the saints that are in the 



132 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my de- 
light, 77 And in the 40th, " I delight to do thy 
will, my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." 

Now, in view of all this strong array of testi- 
mony, beloved hearers, to prove that saints delight 
in God and godliness, how, let me ask, stands the 
matter with you? Do you delight in God, your 
maker, your Saviour and Sanctifier, and to medi- 
tate on his excellent glory? How* do you feel to- 
wards his Word and worship? Is it your meat 
and drink to obey his commandment? j^re his 
precepts sweeter to you than honey and the honey- 
comb? Do you esteem "one day in his courts 
better than a thousand elsewhere?" Do you love 
"the house of prayer?" Is the "Sabbath your 
delight ?" Do you make his people your compan- 
ions ? Do you delight to wash the saints' feet ? Do 
you regularly commune at the Lord's table? Do 
you love to pray without ceasing, and in every- 
thing give thanks ? Do you take pleasure in visit- 
ing the sick, in feeding the hungry, and in cloth- 
ing the naked? In short, do you find "his yoke 
easy, and his burden light?" and his " ways, ways 
of pleasantness, and all his paths peace ?" If to 
these questions you can return an affirmative 
answer, then you have another good evidence in 
your favor that you are born from above, and pos- 
sess the image of the heavenly. We proceed to 
show another conclusive evidence of regeneration, 
viz. : 

5thly. The fruits and leadings of the Holy Spirit. 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 133 

The Scriptures compare the regenerate to good 
trees, and the unregenerate to corrupt trees. 
" Every good tree/' says Christ, " bringeth forth 
good fruit ; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil 
fruit." Therefore, he adds, " By their fruits ye 
shall know them." Matt. 7:16, 17. What then 
are the fruits which grow upon the trees of the 
Father's right hand planting ? Or, what are the 
fruits of the Spirit, by which the regenerate are 
known from the unregenerate? Paul gives us 
the answer to this question, in Gal. 5 : 22, 23, 
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long- 
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, 
temperance." Here are nine fruits or graces, by 
which we may know the people of God. 1. Love, 
or universal and disinterested benevolence. 2. Joy, 
not carnal, but spiritual joy — joy in God and things 
divine. 3. Peace with God, peace of conscience, 
and peaceableness towards all men. 4. Long-suf- 
fering, or patience. 5. Gentleness, or friendliness. 
6. Goodness, or loving-kindness. 7. Faith, or re- 
liance, trust, confidence. 8. Meekness, or humility. 
9. Temperance, or chastity. 

Here, then, are clear, definite, and infallible 
characteristics by which the newborn sons of God 
may always be recognized. As these are good 
fruits they determine with unquestionable cer- 
tainty the trees upon which they are found to be 
good also. 

The same thing may be inferred from the lead- 
ings of God's Spirit. For the apostle says: " As 

12 



134 .EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the 
sons of God." And again, " If ye be led of theSpirit, 
ye are not under the law." Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5 : 18. 
But let no one mistake his own whims and fancies 
for the leadings of the Spirit. The Spirit leads 
according to the "Word. By this, therefore, man 
may know whether his inward dictates and prompt- 
ings are from the Spirit of God or not. If a per- 
son is inwardly moved to do something that does 
not directly or indirectly militate against the Word 
of God, nor conflict with the interests of Chris- 
tianity, he may take it to be from the Spirit ; but 
if it does, he is driven to an opposite conclusion. 

We now proceed to sum up all, by considering 
one more conclusive evidence of regeneration ; and 
one, too, in potency second to none, to wit : 

6. Implicit, universal, and constant obedience to 
God. We will dissect this evidence. 

1. Implicit obedience. This is the first mark of 
true and acceptable obedience to God. Sinners 
may obey God in some things, but they, perhaps, 
never obey God implicitly. Christians obey God 
because it is right to obey him ; because God has 
a right to command ; and it is their duty to obey, 
because he does command. Here is the essence of 
evangelical obedience. If men found their obedi- 
ence on the authority of God, they will not stop 
to inquire into whys and wherefores, but acquiesce 
in the simple fact, that God says so. 

2. Universal obedience. Those who obey God 
from selfish motives, are usually partial in their 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 135 

obedience. But not so with God's ireeborn and 
untrammelled sons. For the same reasons that 
they obey God implicitly, they obey him univer- 
sally. 

To obey God in some things, and to disobey him 
in other things, shows both an unwise head and 
an unsound heart. Such an obedience is both un- 
reasonable and unscriptural. Gospel obedience is 
universal obedience. Hear the word of the Lord 
on this subject : " that there were such a heart 
in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my 
commandments always, that it might be well with 
them, and with their children forever!" Deut. 
5 : 29. " Teaching them to observe all things what- 
soever I have commanded you." Matt. 28 : 20. " Ye 
are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command 
you." John 15:14. "Whosoever shall keep the 
whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty 
of all." James 2 : 10. 

3. Constant obedience. This is another property 
of Gospel obedience. Temporary obedience is no 
mark of grace. Many have " run yell " for a 
season, but at length they grew weary and turned 
aside. Let such remember the words of Christ, 
" No man, having put his hand to the plough, and 
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 
9 : 62. Let them, also, consider the words of the 
Lord, Heb. 10 : 38, " But if any man draw back, my 
soul shall have no pleasure in him." Like Caleb, 
then, we must " follow the Lord fully." Num. 14 : 
24. And, like David, we must " have respect to all 



136 EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 

his commandments," and " perform his statutes 
always, even unto the end." Ps. 119 : 6, 112. 

This, then, is the true nature of evangelical obe- 
dience. This obedience no one renders in a natu- 
ral state, before he is born again. Whenever, 
therefore, men yield such obedience to God, it is 
an evidence of their regeneration. And it is one 
of the surest and best evidences of a regenerate 
state. One that can always be relied on without 
any fears of deception. One that carries its own 
conviction with it of the reality and genuineness 
of the work. One that proves most conclusively 
and satisfactorily, beyond all doubt and controversy, 
that the soul is born of God, and meet for heaven. 
In corroboration of all this, we find it written, " He 
that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, 
he it is that loveth me." John 14: 21. " Ye are 
my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." 
Chap. 15 : 14. " This is the love of God, that we 
keep his commandments." 1 John 5 : 3. " God is 
love ; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, 
and God in him." Chap. 4 : 16. w Every one that 
loveth is born of God." Verse 7. " Whosoever 
doeth not righteousness is not of God." " Every- 
one that doeth righteousness is born of him." 
Chap. 2: 29; 3: 10. 

Kow, then, the great question is settled, so far, 
at least, as evidences of the new birth are concerned. 
We have seen, from six decisive or conclusive evi- 
dences, who has a rational and scriptural right to 
conclude that he is born again. But to whom do 



EVIDENCES OF REGENERATION. 137 

these evidences apply ? "Who proves himself born 
of God by these infallible evidences ? Who stands 
in awe of God, and sins not ? Who can say, whereas 
I was once the servant of sin, I am now the ser- 
vant of righteousness? Who loves "the brother- 
hood" with " a pure heart, fervently?" Who can 
love his enemies by blessing them, praying for them, 
and doing them good ? Who can delight himself 
in God and things divine ? Who bears the fruit, 
enjoys the witness, and follows the leadings of the 
Spirit? And w T ho keeps the commandments of 
God, and the faith of Jesus ? Are there such peo- 
ple in the city of Lancaster ? Are there such in 
this vast crowd to-night ? Who are they ? How 
many are there ? How many men ? How many 
women ? Do any of you think these hard sayings ? 
Stop and think again. Think of the Saviour's 
words. " Every good tree bringeth forth good 
fruit, and by their fruits ye shall know them." 
Judge then, but judge righteous judgment. And, 
above all, judge your own selves by the marks and 
evidences we have given you this evening, whether 
you are born again ! Blessed be God, there are 
some, I know, who can stand the test of this ex- 
amination ! Thanks be to God that the regenerate 
have greatly multiplied in this city w T ithin the 
last year or two ! God grant that they may con- 
tinue to multiply, and that they may let their 
light so shine, that others, seeing their good works, 
may learn to glorify God also. 



138 NECESSITY OP REGENERATION. 



SEEMON VI. 

SHOWING THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION FROM THE 
SCRIPTURES. 

John 3 : 7. — " Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be 
born again.' ' 

Having finished the discussion of the evidences 
of regeneration in our last discourse, a week ago, 
we now come to consider, 

4thly. The absolute and indispensable necessity of 
this great work in order to eternal life. 

This we propose to argue, 

1st. From the Scriptures ; and, 

2dly. From the nature of things. 

1. We shall prove the absolute necessity of re- 
generation from the Holy Scriptures. The Scrip- 
tures come to us as a revelation from God. If we 
receive them as such, we are bound to believe 
what they teach, both concerning God and man. 
Now, on the subject under consideration, they do 
teach, most expressly and unequivocally, that " no 
man can enter into the kingdom of God, except he 
is born again/' To set this doctrine in the clearest 
and strongest light, we shall present the testimony 
of the Bible in the following order, to wit : 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 139 

1st. Those passages which require the change. 

2dly. Those which promise heaven to them, and 
them alone, that possess it. And, 

3dly. Those which exclude from heaven, and 
condemn to eternal death, all those who live and 
die without it. 

1st. We propose to show the necessity of regen- 
eration from those passages or texts of Scripture 
which require the change either expressly or by 
implication. From among these take the follow- 
ing : " Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; 
but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A 
good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can 
a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree 
that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, 
and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits 
ye shall know them." Matt. 7: 17-20. 

The moral of this text is to show, that the moral 
character of men must be tested and known by 
the tenor of their life and conversation. As in 
nature, so in grace; if the nature is good, the 
fruit will be good also. If the nature of man is 
good, his temper and conduct will be good ; but 
if his nature is evil, then the passions and actions 
will be evil also. Hence the moral nature of man 
must be changed, " by the washing of regeneration 
and the renewing of the Holy Ghost," or the tem- 
per and conduct will never become good, spiritual, 
and holy. And just as the trees that are not made 
good, and the fruit not good, are all hewn down 



140 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

and cast into the fire ; so will every sinner fare 
whose heart is not changed, and whose life is not 
made righteous and holy. This passage, then, 
shows and teaches the importance of the new 
birth, or a change of nature. 

Another passage, which shows precisely the 
same thing, we have in these words : " Repent ye 
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted 
out." Conversion, in one sense, means the same 
as regeneration ; but, in another, it is more compre- 
hensive. It always includes regeneration, though 
often it expresses more. It denotes a thorough 
change of heart and life. When, therefore, con- 
version is required, regeneration is required also. 
This is the case in the text just cited. And with- 
out this there is no remission, no reconciliation, 
and no salvation. 

Again, it is said, " Be not conformed to this 
world ; but be ye transformed by the renewing of 
your mind." Rom. 12 : 2. This passage shows dis- 
tinctly that God requires a transformation of moral 
character. For, mark ! it is a transformation " by 
the renewal of the mind " that is called for and 
required. This requirement is strikingly philo- 
sophical. It is making the tree good, that the 
fruit may be good; and when the tree is made 
good, as we have heard before, the fruit will be 
good as a natural consequence. 

Another text, very much analogous to the one 
we have just quoted from the Romans, we find in 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 141 

the Epistle to the Ephesians : "Put ye off concern- 
ing the former conversation the old man, which 
is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts ; and be 
renewed in the spirit of your mind ; and that ye 
put on the new man, which, after God, is created 
in righteousness and true holiness." Eph. 4 : 22, 
23, 24. By the old man, in this text, is evidently 
meant man's carnal and sinful nature ; and by the 
new man, his spiritual and holy nature. And by 
putting off the old man, and putting on the new, 
is simply meant a renewal or change "in the spirit 
of the mind." This change of the spirit of the 
mind is said to be " created after God in righte- 
ousness and true holiness." Here, then, we have 
another strong proof that God requires a great 
and radical change in the moral character of man, 
in order to the inheriting of the kingdom of God. 
Another passage which may be adduced as proof 
of the importance and necessity of the new birth, 
we have recorded in Ezek. 18:31: " Make you a 
new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die V 
To make a new heart, is to regenerate or change 
the heart. The necessity of this change may be 
inferred from the question, " For why will ye die?" 
It plainly shows that man must change or die. 
The command, " Make you a new heart," can only 
be obeyed by believing in Christ. " As many as 
received him, to them gave he power to become 
the sons of God, even to them that believe on his 
name." John 1:12. The poet says: 



142 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

I cannot change my heart 

But by believing thee ; 
And waiting for thy blood t'impart 

The spotless purity. 

"While at thy cross I lie, 
Jesus, thy grace bestow ; 

Now thy all-cleansing blood apply, 
And make me white as snow. 



2dly. We shall now proceed to show the neces- 
sity of being born again, from those passages in 
which the heirs of heaven have this character 
given them. By the heirs of heaven, I mean those 
to whom heaven is promised. Heaven is prom- 
ised to God's people. God's people have different 
names given them, all of which are descriptive of 
a renewed and holy character. The legitimate 
heirs of heaven, therefore, are those who are re- 
born of water and of the Spirit. From the multi- 
tude of passages in the Bible, on this subject, w r e 
select and present the following : 

" Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall 
see God." Matt. 5 : 8. None are pure in heart but 
the regenerate. And those that obtain purity of 
heart by the " washing of regeneration," will evi- 
dence it, as we have heard on a former occasion, 
by purity of life. The pure, therefore, iq. heart 
and life, and these alone, u shall see God." 

Again, in Matt. 19 : 28, it is said : " Verily I say 
unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the 
regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 143 

throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve 
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." To 
follow Christ in the regeneration, is to follow him 
according to the requirements of his Word. His 
Word requires, as we have already heard, a change 
in the spirit of the mind, or a transformation of 
the moral nature. Those, then, that follow Christ 
in this regeneration, or in this change from nature 
to grace, and in all subsequent acts of obedience, 
have the promise of high honors and privileges in 
his kingdom; but without such following, there is 
no promise. 

Again, in John 5 : 24, the Saviour says : " Verily, 
verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, 
and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlast- 
ing life, and shall not come into condemnation ; but 
is passed from death unto life." Here believers are 
represented as having passed from " death to life." 
Such a translation is equivalent to the new birth; 
and these, it is said, " shall not come into con- 
demnation," but "have everlasting life." 

In Paul's letter to the Romans, it is said : " Ye 
have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we 
cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth wit- 
ness with our Spirit, that we are the children of 
God ; and if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, 
and joint heirs with Christ ; if so be that we suf- 
fer with him, that we may be also glorified to- 
gether." Rom. 8:15-17. In this text the chil- 
dren and heirs of God, who shall be glorified 
together with Christ, are those " who have re- 



144 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

ceived the Spirit of adoption, realized the witness 
of the Spirit, and that suffer for the name of Christ ; 
consequently such, and such only, as are regener- 
ated by the Word and Spirit of Christ." 

Moreover, it is said, in Paul's Epistle to the Co- 
lossians : " Ye are dead, and your life is hid with 
Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall 
appear, then shall ye also appear with him in 
glory." Col. 3:3,4. In this passage, " The saints 
and the faithful brethren in Christ who were 
at Colosse, and who had the promise that they 
should appear with Christ in glory," are said to 
be dead, and that their life was " hid with Christ 
in God." These then, of course, were also born of 
God. 

Furthermore, we read, in the Epistle to Titus: 
"After that the kindness and love of God our 
Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of 
righteousness which we have done, but according 
to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regen- 
eration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he 
shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our 
Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we 
should be made heirs according to the hope of 
eternal life." Tit. 3 : 4-7. This passage, also, 
clearly shows that the heirs of "eternal life" are 
born again. " They are saved," says the apostle, 
"by the washing of regeneration and the renew- 
ing of the Holy Ghost." In this way only can 
men be made, scripturally, " the heirs of eternal 
life." 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 145 

Once more we read, in the beginning of the first 
Epistle of Peter : " To the strangers scattered 
throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, 
and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowl- 
edge of God the Father, through sanctification of 
the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the 
blood of Jesus Christ : Grace unto you and peace be 
multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to his abundant 
mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by 
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to 
an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and 
that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 
who are kept by the power of God through faith 
unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last 
time. 7 ' 

This text shows the necessity of regeneration 
with respect to the purpose of God. " Elect, " says 
the apostle, " according to the foreknowledge of 
God, through sanctification of the Spirit, to 
obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus 
Christ." How beautifully the causes, means, and 
ends are here blended together ! " Though," says 
a sage writer, " God did not choose men because 
they were holy, yet he chose men to be holy, — 
though he appointed not men to be saved, because 
they were saints, yet he appointed men to be saints, 
that they might be saved. " The truth of this re- 
mark is forcibly illustrated by the passage just 
recited. 

There are various other passages which present 



146 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

the people of God under a renewed or sacred 
character. 

The various names and titles by which the mouth 
of the Lord has named his people, are likewise de- 
scriptive of the same character. But this sacred 
character cannot be formed without a change of 
nature; therefore to be born again is absolutely 
necessary to bear the character which is peculiar 
to God's people. In evidence of this fact take a 
few passages. 

"God be thanked, that ye were the servants of 
sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form 
of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then 
made free from sin, ye became the servants of 
righteousness. And now ye have your fruit unto 
holiness, and the end everlasting life." Rom. 6 : 17, 
18, 22. 

" If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : 
old things are passed away ; behold, all things are 
become new." 2 Cor. 5:17. 

" And such were some of you : but ye are washed, , 
but ye are sanctified but ye are justified in the 
name of the Lord Jesus, and bj r the Spirit of our 
God." 1 Cor. 6:11. 

" For both he that sanctifieth and they who are 
sanctified are all of one ; for which cause he is not 
ashamed to call them brethren." Heb. 2:11. 

" But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priest- 
hood, a holy nation, a peculiar people ; that ye 
should show forth the praises of him who hath 
called you out of darkness into his marvellous 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 147 

light ; wliicli in time past were not a people, but 
are now the people of God : which had not obtained 
mercy, but now have obtained mercy." 1 Pet. 2 : 
9,10. 

Besides, the names, as we said before, by which 
the people of God are designated, portray a sim- 
ilar character. For instance, they are called Saints, 
Holy Brethren, Christians, Righteous, Children of 
Light, New-born Babes, etc., etc. 

The description of character set forth in the 
afore-cited passages, and by the appellations just 
mentioned, is never attributed to man in a natural 
state. It is a description of character which be- 
longs exclusively to the children of the kingdom 
of God. Sinners, therefore, " must be born again," 
or they cannot answer this description of charac- 
ter. And without this virtuous and holy char- 
acter they can have no Scriptural nor rational 
claim to the kingdom of heaven. 

We shall go on to argue the necessity of the 
new birth. 

3dly. From those texts which exclude from the 
kingdom of God and condemn to eternal punish- 
ment all persons who live and die without it. 
From among these we select the following : 

" Except your righteousness shall exceed the 
righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall 
in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven/' Matt. 
5 : 20. "What was the righteousness of the Scribes 
and Pharisees? An outward conformity to the 
law. In what respects must our righteousness ex- 



148 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

ceed theirs ? In that ours must be both an inward 
and outward conformity to the will of God. But 
without regeneration, this conformity is utterly 
unattainable. Exclusion, therefore, from the king- 
dom of God, must unavoidably follow 7 . 

Again, in chapter 18 : 3, the Saviour declares, 
"Verily, I say unto you, Except ye be converted, 
and become as little children, ye shall not enter 
into the kingdom of heaven." Here, then, you 
perceive, conversion, which implies regeneration, 
is required, on pain of exclusion from the kingdom 
of heaven. And not only so, but a conformity to 
little children is also required. " Except ye be 
converted, and become as little children, ye shall 
not enter," etc. 

It is not enough, then, you perceive, to be con- 
verted or born again. But such are required like- 
wise "to grow in grace," "to add to their faith," 
and " to perfect holiness in the fear of God," and 
thus be made conformable to the image of little 
children. And where there is no such advance- . 
ment and conformity, there can be no admission 
into heaven. Many new-born souls, I fear, lose 
sight of this requirement. The covetousness, 
pride, and bigotry which exist among many pro- 
fessors, is decisive proof of this fact. 

Again, in the text and context, we have the set- 
tled, firm, and unalterable legislation of the King 
of heaven on this subject. And, as I remarked in 
the opening of this series of sermons, Christ issued 
the royal law to Nicodemus, without any circum- 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 149 

locution, qualification, or condition, saying, " Ver- 
ily, verily I say to thee, Except a man be born again 
he cannot see the kingdom of God." Again, " Ex- 
cept a man be born of water and of the Spirit, 
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." And 
again, " Ye must be born again." This birth he 
declares must be accomplished " by water and by 
the Spirit." That is to say, as we have shown 
before, by the influence and power of the Gospel 
and the Holy Ghost. Its indispensable necessity 
he asserts in the strongest and most explicit terms. 

If heaven's legislation, therefore, contained 
nothing more on the absolute necessity of regen- 
eration than what is found in this noted conversa- 
tion between Christ and Nicodemus,it were already 
abundantly sufficient to establish the verity of this 
doctrine. But this is far from being all that the 
Scriptures contain on the subject. Its necessity is 
supported, not by a few isolated passages only, but 
by the general tenor of the Scriptures. This we 
have heard in part already. But let us trace it 
still further. 

In the Epistle to the Hebrews, 12th chapter and 
14th verse, it is said, " Follow after peace and holi- 
ness, without which no man shall see the Lord." By 
nature all men are destitute of peace and holiness. 
" There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked." 
" They are all gone out of the way." " There is 
none righteous." Rom. 3 : 10-12. Hence all are 
commanded to repent and be converted. And ex- 
cept they repent they shall perish ; except they 



150 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

are born again, and so become holy, they cannot 
have peace with God, and they cannot see or enjoy 
him in his kingdom. The saints shall have such 
a beautiful vision of God in heaven as shall make 
them like God. 1 John 3 : 2. But the unholy 
shall not see God. It takes purity of heart, purity 
of eyes, and purity of hands, to entitle men to this 
privilege. 

Another passage in point here, we find recorded 
in Rev. 21 : 27, " And there shall in no wise enter 
into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever 
worketh abomination or maketh a lie: but they 
which are written in the Lamb's book of life." This 
passage likewise shows very pointedly that heaven 
or the city of God, as it is here called, is not for 
the unregenerate, but for the regenerate ; for they 
alone have " their names written in the Lamb's 
book of life." Phil. 4:3. 

Having now presented a few passages, which 
exclude the unregenerate from the kingdom of 
God, let us next exhibit and consider a few which 
condemn to eternal punishment all those who live 
and die unchanged in their moral character. 

John the Baptist said, " And now also the axe 
is laid unto the root of the trees : therefore every 
tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn 
down, and cast into the fire." Matt. 3 : 10. Christ, 
the teacher come from God, asserts precisely the 
same thing. " Every tree that bringeth not forth 
good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire." 
Matt. 7:19. The phrase, " good trees," as we have 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 151 

heard before, is to denote good men ; whilst that 
of " corrupt trees/'. or " barren trees," is used to 
denote bad men. All men by nature are corrupt 
and sinful ; therefore, all must be made good by 
regeneration, or else like corrupt trees they will be 
hewn down and cast into the fire. This fire is called 
" hell-fire," and is said to be "prepared for the 
devil and his angels ;" in it the wicked shall be 
punished according to their wickedness forever and 
ever. 

Another passage of the same import, and which 
proves identically and conclusively the same thing, 
is brought to view in the parable of the tares of 
the field. " As therefore the tares are gathered 
and burned in the fire ; so shall it be in the end of 
this world. The* Son of man shall send forth his 
angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom 
all things that offend, and them which do iniquity ; 
and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there 
shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." Matt. 13 : 
40-42. 

The tares in this parable represent the children 
of the wicked one, or the unconverted in general. 
These "shall be gathered out of his kingdom," 
that is, they shall be separated from the righteous, 
and " cast into a furnace of fire." Consequently, 
such will not only be excluded from " the regions 
of bliss, but condemned to the wrathful regions of 
perdition." 

Another text which strongly illustrates the 
same truth, we find recorded, Matt. 22 : 11-13 ; 



152 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

" And when the king came in to see the guests, he 
saw there a man which had not on a wedding gar- 
ment ; and he saith unto him, Friend, how earnest 
thou in hither not having a wedding garment? 
And he was speechless. Then said the king to the 
servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him 
away, and cast him into outer darkness ; there shall 
be weeping and gnashing of teeth." This passage 
is a part of the well-known parable of the marriage 
of the king's son. The design of this parable is to 
show the great provision which God has made, 
under the Gospel dispensation, for the salvation of 
mankind. The guests at this marriage represent 
the children of God. The wedding garment denotes 
their virtuous and holy character. Now as the 
man in the parable who was foufid destitute of the 
wedding garment was rejected and cast into outer 
darkness, so will it be in the judgment with all 
those who are found destitute of a regenerated and 
sanctified nature. Nothing short of a second birth 
will save men from the second death. 

Another passage which shows the same thing, 
is the parable of the nobleman, " who went into a 
far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and 
to return." Luke 19: 12-20. This nobleman rep- 
resents Christ — the servants represent the regen- 
erate, and the citizens the unregenerate. Now 
mark, the citizens hated him, and declared they 
would not have him to reign over them. This is 
exactly the character and conduct of the unregen- 
erate. " The carnal mind," says the apostle, " is 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 153 

enmity against God : for it is not subject to the 
law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they 
that are in the flesh cannot please God." Rom. 8 : 
7, 8. There must, therefore, be a change from 
enmity to love — from insubordination to subjec- 
tion, or there is no such thing as pleasing God — 
no such thing as inheriting eternal life, and conse- 
quently no such thing as avoiding the damnation 
of hell. Hence, mark it, I beseech you, when the 
nobleman returned, he said, " Bring hither those 
mine enemies, which would not that I should reign 
over them, and slay them before me." Luke 19 : 27. 

Again, the apostle says, " If ye live after the 
flesh, ye shall die." Rom. 8 : 13. " To live after the 
flesh," means to live according to the natural pro- 
pensities and inclinations of the carnal mind, ac- 
cording to the course of this world, without the 
exercise of holy affections, and without regard to 
virtue and piety. 

Now all those that live thus, it is declared, shall 
die ; that is, they shall be punished in a coming 
world. The word death is often used in this sense. 
See Rom. 6 : 21-23 ; 8 : 6. It cannot simply mean 
natural death, or a dissolution of the body, for that 
is common to all, good and bad. But the proper 
and obvious meaning of the passage is, as we have 
just said, that those who live after or according 
to the evil inclinations of the natural unregenerate 
heart, shall be punished hereafter in the world to 
come, according to the degree and extent of their 
wickedness. See Rev. 20 : 11-14. 



154 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

In the first chapter of Paul's Second Epistle to 
the Thessalonians, we find another passage directly 
in point : " The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from 
heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire 
taking vengeance on them that know not God, 
and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ ; who shall be punished with everlasting 
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and 
from the glory of his power ; when he shall come 
to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in 
all them that believe." 2Thess. 1:7-10. Here, you 
perceive that the ignorant and disobedient shall 
be punished " with an everlasting destruction from 
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his 
power/' whilst the saints and true believers " shall 
be admired and glorified." All, therefore, who are 
not born again, and made saints or holy ones, can 
by no means avoid " everlasting destruction." 

Once more, in the twentieth chapter of the 
Revelations and fifteenth verse, it is said, "And 
whosoever was not found written in the book of life 
was cast into the lake of fire." Again, in the 
twenty-first chapter and in the seventh and eighth 
verses, it is said, " He that overcometh shall in- 
herit all things: and I will be his God, and he 
shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, 
and the abominable, and murderers, and whore- 
mongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, 
shall have their part in the lake which burneth 
with fire and brimstone ; which is the second 
death." None are conquerors but believers. And 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 155 

those who by faith overcome the flesh, the world, 
and the devil, and receive power to become the 
sons of God, shall have their names recorded in 
the Lamb's book of life; and if faithful until 
death, " they shall inherit all things." But those 
who remain in a carnal state, unpardoned and 
unsanctified, and who continue to live after the 
flesh, or according to their sinful appetites and 
propensities, " shall have their part in the lake of 
fire, which is the second death." 

And now, my dear hearers, from the long and 
strong train of Scripture proofs, which we have 
adduced in evidence of the necessity of regenera- 
tion, you cannot fail to perceive the truth and cer- 
tainty of the doctrine. It rests not upon doubtful 
testimony. It is not a mere matter of inference. 
It is based on plain, unequivocal statute law. The 
strength of the argument deducible from the Bible, 
we have endeavored to present to you in the most 
simple, easy, and natural form and order. We 
have endeavored to prove the necessity of this 
great change, 

1st. From those passages which require it, either 
expressly or by fair implication. 

2dly. From those which show that the heirs of 
salvation have undergone or experienced this re- 
newal of their moral nature ; and, 

3dly. From those texts which plainly and ex- 
pressly exclude from heaven and condemn to eter- 
nal woe all that live and die without being born 
again. 



156 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

In conclusion, my hearers, let me entreat you to 
ponder this solemn subject in your hearts. Bear 
the sayings of God in faithful remembrance. The 
Bible argument, as you have heard, is a potent 
and invulnerable argument. God himself has set- 
tled this question conclusively and forever, that no 
man shall see and enter into the kingdom of heav- 
en, except he is born again. Heaven and earth 
shall pass away, says God, but my words shall not 
pass away. Ye must then, ye must, aye yes, ye 
must be born again, or heaven has no mansion for 
you. Where God and his Christ is — where glori- 
fied saints and angels are, ye cannot come. But, 
far from this high and blessed abode, among devils, 
unbelievers, and hypocrites, in the lake that burns 
with fire and brimstone, where there is weeping, 
wailing, and gnashing of teeth, there will you have 
and hold your sad allotment forever and ever. 

One word more. Let me beg you to consider 
that this is no unwise, unmerciful arrangement — 
no arbitrary act of legislation. God does not debar 
men from heaven because he has formed them for 
woe, or because he takes pleasure in sending them 
to hell. So far from this being the case, we have 
both the declaration and oath of God to assure us 
to the contrary. " As I live, saith the Lord God, 
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; 
but that the wicked turn from his way and live : 
turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will 
ye die?" Eze. 33 : 11. On the other hand we are 
told, " That God is not willing that any should 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 157 

perish, but that all should come to repentance." 
2 Peter 3 : 9. 

But then God cannot save sinners in any way 
that is inconsistent with his character, and the 
character and end of man. God acts from the 
highest and best motives, and in reference to the na- 
ture and fitness of things. As the moral governor 
of the universe he must maintain the purity of his 
throne, and treat the subjects of his moral govern- 
ment as free and intelligent agents. Hence, from 
the character of God, and the end of man ; from the 
nature and fitness of things, it is further evident 
that man cannot be saved and enjoy eternal life, ex- 
cept by the regeneration of his soul he is qualified 
and prepared for it. This argument, however, we 
shall not insist on at present, but reserve for con- 
sideration in our next and concluding sermon. 

14 



158 NECESSITY OE REGENERATION. 



SERMON VII. 

SHOWING THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION FROM THE 
NATURE OF THINGS. 

John 3 : 7. — " Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born 

again." 

In our last sermon we entered upon the consid- 
eration and proof of the necessity of the new birth. 
The necessity of this change we proposed to 
prove, 

1st. From the Scriptures : and, 

2dly. Prom the nature of things. 

The Bible argument on this subject we presented 
in our last discourse : we now come to argue it, 

2dly. From the nature of things. 

Reason, experience, and observation, go to show, 
and to show conclusively, that the happiness of 
all living beings, whether in the physical or moral 
world, depends upon the congeniality and suitable- 
ness between their natures and the things to be 
enjoyed, and that where there is no such conge- 
niality, fitness, and adaptation, there can be no 
substantial happiness. 

Go into the physical or material world, and you 
will find it to be so there. With the exception of 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 159 

a few amphibious animals, it will be found that 
every creature of God has its own peculiar nature, 
suited to the climate, element, mode of existence, 
etc., for which it was intended ; and that its own 
comfort, happiness, and, perhaps, its very existence 
depends upon the adaptation and suitableness of 
its nature to these things. 

The fishes, for instance, have their nature adapted 
to the element of water. In it they are comfort- 
able and happy. But take them out of that ele- 
ment into the element of air, and what is the con- 
sequence ? Immediate distress and misery. Why ? 
Because their nature is not adapted to the element 
of air. 

Birds, on the other hand, have their nature 
suited to the element of air. In it they live, and 
move, and are comfortable and happy. But trans- 
pose them from their native element into the ele- 
ment of water, and the result will be the same. 

So, likewise, with regard to some quadrupeds 
and animalcules. Some of them can only live and 
be happy in the dark, in damp and dark subterra- 
neous abodes. Others would inevitably get blind, 
become miserable, and die, without light. 

Some are carnivorous, and can only subsist on 
flesh ; others can only live with comfort on vege- 
tables. 

Some are tame, and easily domesticated ; others 
are wild and untamable. Some w r ander and live 
mostly in solitude, others are never without com- 
pany ; but that company, in order to make them 



160 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

satisfied, comfortable and happy, must always be 
company of their own kind, in its wild or domes- 
ticated state, as the nature of the case may require. 
Thus we see, from the nature of things in the 
kingdom of nature, that the nature and faculties 
of a creature must be adapted to the nature of the 
things to be enjoyed, in order to secure happiness. 

Again, go into the moral or spiritual world, and 
you will find the same thing there. Psychology, 
as taught us in the Bible, is no mystery. Human 
nature is identically the same now it has ever been 
since the fall of man. But it is very different in 
its lapsed from its primeval or original state ; and no 
less diverse now in its carnal from its spiritual state ; 
there are those who are carnal, and those who are 
spiritual ; two classes altogether different and op- 
posite in their moral natures ; fully as much so as 
sheep and wolves are diverse in their natures, or 
as doves and birds of prey. At any rate, to these 
they are respectively compared, and very justly. 
Those who are spiritual, have been made so by 
regeneration, or a spiritual birth ; for " that which 
is born of the Spirit is spirit, and that which is 
born of the flesh is flesh," and nothing else, in a 
moral sense. 

Now the moral difference between this descrip- 
tion of characters lies here : those who are carnal, 
mind the things of the flesh ; whilst those who are 
spiritual, mind the things of the Spirit. That is 
to say, those who are carnal have a natural pro- 
pensity for, and delight in, the things or works of 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 161 

the flesh (vide Gal. 5 : 19-21); whilst those who 
are born of the Spirit, and, therefore, are spiritual, 
have a natural inclination for, and delight in, the 
things of the Spirit. Hence, with natures so essen- 
tially dissimilar and uncongenial, they cannot be 
happy in the enjoyment of the same things. 

That all mankind are naturally depraved, yea, 
totally depraved, corrupt, and sinful, so that they 
are wholly and solely inclined to things sensual, 
earthly, and devilish, it is not in my place here to 
consider. This humiliating truth is clearly and 
strongly supported both by reason and revelation. 
The whole scheme of human redemption goes upon 
this fact. The great proof of the necessity of re- 
generation is founded upon this doctrine. But we 
have heard enough throughout the course of these 
sermons, and especially in the last sermon, fully to 
convince every reflecting and candid mind of the 
truth of this doctrine. 

Our main business, at present, is to show that 
human nature, in its fallen and natural state, can- 
not enjoy God and the things of God ; that this, 
nevertheless, is the great end of man, and that, 
therefore, man must be born again, in order to an- 
swer^the noble end of his being. 

We say, then, that natural, unregenerate men 
cannot enjoy God. And why not ? Obviously and 
mainly for two reasons. 

1st. Because their nature is dissimilar. God is 
benevolent. Sinners are malevolent. God is just 
and holy. Sinners are unjust and unholy. 



162 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

2dly. Because they do not love God. Instead 
of loving him, they hate. "The carnal mind is 
enmity against God ; for it is not subject to the law 
of God, neither indeed can be." Rom. 8 : 7. If 
sinners had a nature and character like God, then 
they would love him, for the same reasons that 
they now hate him. And then their supreme de- 
light and enjoyment would be in God. For he 
that dwelleth in God dwelleth in love. And to 
love and to be loved is to be happy. Sinners, 
therefore, must be born again in order to be con- 
formed to the moral likeness of God, and to enjoy 
fellowship with him. 

Again, we say, that natural and unrenewed men 
cannot enjoy the things of God. As for in- 
stance : 

1. The communion of saints. One of the chief 
ends for which Christ has ordained the establish- 
ment of churches, is the enjoyment of Christian 
fellowship. And this fellowship or communion of 
saints, has always been regarded by the people of 
God as one of their greatest enjoyments in this 
life. To love and be loved, to favor and be fa- 
vored, in the kingdom and patience of Jesus, gives 
an unearthly, unspeakable, and heavenly peace and 
happiness. It is heaven on earth begun. But to 
this joy and happiness sinners are utter strangers. 
In it they cannot participate so long as they remain 
carnal and sold under sin. 

This accounts for the shyness of the uncon- 
verted. They have a natural dislike and aversion 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 163 

to the company of Christians. Such Christians, I 
mean, who have the spirit of Christ, and who talk 
and walk as did their Master. Sinners do not like 
the society of such holy ones, much less can they 
enjoy their religious conversation, their pious de- 
votions, their heavenly places, and their blessed- 
ness. 

2. The reading and hearing of God's Word. 
This the ungodly have no enjoyment in. They 
may, from selfish ends, as we have shown before 
(see page 130), take an interest and delight in the 
Word of God ; but at the same time they have no 
inward and spiritual enjoyment, like Christians 
have. To them the Word of God is " sweeter 
than honey and the honeycomb." They delight 
in the law of the Lord "after the inward man." 
But this is not the case with sinners. They 
cannot relish the things of the Spirit. They ac- 
count them foolishness, and they never have, and 
never will delight in them, until they are born 
again. 

3. Devotional acts and exercises in the closet, in 
the family, and in the church. These the carnally 
minded cannot take pleasure in. They may attend 
to them for conscience' sake ; but as to take delight 
in them, as they do in the things which are con- 
genial to their nature, that is altogether impracti- 
cable. Sinners must first be " renewed in the spirit 
of their mind," before they can properly mind, re- 
ceive, and delight in holy exercises and virtuous 
pursuits. 



164 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

Now, if the unregenerate have no capacity for 
the enjoyment of God and things divine here in 
this world, how can they reasonably expect to 
glorify and enjoy him forever in the world to 
come ? •= 

Death, let it be remembered, makes no change 
in the moral character of men. It merely dissolves 
the connection between soul and body. As, there- 
fore, death leaves them the judgment will fiud 
them. Hence, says Solomon, "If the tree fall 
towards the south, or towards the north, in the 
place where the tree falleth, there it shall be." 
Eccl. 11:3. The obvious meaning of this text 
is, that there will be no change in the moral 
character of men, after death, in the world to 
come. In the identical state, and with the same 
character that they leave this world, they will be 
found in eternity. If they die unpardoned and 
unregenerated, they will appear as such in the 
judgment, and so remain forever. But if, on the 
other hand, they form and retain a spiritual and , 
holy character in this probationary life, they will 
carry it w T ith them to the world to come ; and so 
be prepared for the enjoyment of God and his 
kingdom ; whereas, none shall see, much less enter 
into the kingdom of God, without this preparation. 
This is the settled and immutable decree of Jeho- 
vah. And this prohibitory statute, as we said 
before, is no arbitrary act of sovereignty — no un- 
reasonable caprice in the Divine Being. No, it is 
a wise and salutary statute, founded on the just 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 165 

principles of reason and the nature of things. 
Hence, we argue the necessity of regeneration from 
this consideration. 

We have shown that the unregenerate, in con- 
sequence of the total depravity of their nature, 
cannot enjoy God and the things belonging to the 
kingdom of grace here on earth ; and if so, it neces- 
sarily follows, we say, that they cannot enjoy God, 
and the things pertaining to the kingdom of glory 
in the world to come. 

Reflect but for a moment on the sublimity, 
effulgence, and glory of the heavenly world. The 
Lord Jehovah, as we have heard, is an infinitely 
pure and holy Being. He dwelleth, it is said, in 
light inaccessible (to unholy beings) and full of 
glory. 

Holiness is the habitation of his throne. His 
countenance is as the sun shining in his strength. 
He is glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing 
wonders. He is " holy, harmless, undefiled, and 
separate from sinners." 

" The word holy in this passage," says Prof. 
Dwight, " naturally denotes the positive excellence 
of Christ's character ; the word harmless, an abso- 
lute freedom from the guilt of injuring and cor- 
rupting others ; the word undefiled, his freedom 
from all personal corruption ; and the phrase, sepa- 
rate, or separated from sinners, the entire distinc- 
tion between him and all beings who are in any 
sense or degree the subjects of sin." 

Heaven is a holy, magnificent, and glorious 



166 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

abode. It is called " the high and holy place" — 
" The habitation of God's holiness," etc. 

The inhabitants of heaven are all immaculate 
and holy beings. These are constituted or made 
up of two great and grand generations. There is 
first, what may be called a generation of natives, 
usually denominated angels. These, though of 
different orders, are all spotless and holy beings. 
There is, also, what may be called a generation of 
foreigners. These are commonly styled the saints 
of the Most High — the spirits of just men made 
perfect, etc. 

The pursuits and employments of heaven are all 
spiritual, virtuous, and holy. Their great, un- 
ceasing, and harmonious employment is to adore 
and glorify the great, supreme, and eternal God — 
the originator of all things, and the infinite source 
of all blessedness. The burden of their unceasing 
song is, " Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God Almighty, 
who wast, and art, and art to come." 

Hence, then, my dear auditors, you cannot fail 
to perceive that the idea of unregenerated and un- 
holy persons going to heaven, and of being happy 
there in company with saints and angels in the 
worship and enjoyment of God, is as idle and un- 
reasonable, as it is unscriptural. It is impossible 
from the nature of things. 

If in this life righteousness can have no fellow- 
ship with unrighteousness — if light can have no 
communion with darkness, and Christ no concord 
with Belial (because they are contrary one to the 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 167 

other), how much less can this be expected in the 
world to come? If sinners do not love God, and 
delight in his worship here in this world, how can 
they expect to love him, and delight in his service 
in the world to come ? If they have no affection 
for God's people, no pleasure in their company, 
and no delight in their virtuous pursuits and 
sacred employments here on earth, how can they 
expect to have these things in heaven, with iden- 
tically the same carnal, sinful, and unholy nature 
which they possess here on earth ? No, dear sin- 
ners, the thing cannot be. It is entirely out of 
the question. It is preposterous and irrational to 
expect it. 

If heaven was a Mahometan paradise ; if a place 
of sensual delights or carnal enjoyments ; then, 
were sinners admitted there, they might expect to 
be happy. But heaven is not such a place. There 
is nothing there that will suit the carnal propen- 
sities and sinful passions of the unconverted. The 
things which they love and delight in here, are 
unknown and disallowed in heaven ; and the 
things which they now hate and disrelish (because 
unsuitable to their nature), these alone are to be 
found there. 

Sinners, I therefore tell you, once and again, and 
that, too, upon the authority of God's law, and on 
the rational conclusion drawn irresistibly from the 
reason and nature of things, that "you must be 
born again," in order to glorify and enjoy God for- 
ever in his kingdom. 



168 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION, 

Let me repeat and press this assurance, in the 
poetic language of Bishop Hoskins. 

Sinners ! this solemn truth regard ! 

Hear, all ye sons of men ; 
For Christ the Saviour hath declared, 

11 Ye must be born again.'' 

Whate'er might be your birth or blood, 

The sinner's boast is vain : 
Thus saith the glorious Son of God, 

" Ye must be born again.' ' 

Our nature's totally depraved, 

The heart's a sink of sin : 
Without a change you can't be saved, 

11 Ye must be born again." 

That which is born of flesh is flesh, 

And flesh it will remain ; 
Then marvel not that Jesus saith, 

u Ye must be born again." 



Having now gone through with this series of 
sermons on the vitally important subject of regen- 
eration, we shall add a few 



REMARKS AND INFERENCES. 

1. Regeneration is one of the cardinal and fun- 
damental doctrines of the Bible. This fact, I trust, 
has been fully established by our discussions of 
this subject, through the course of these sermons. 

2. Regeneration is a doctrine, therefore, which 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 169 

ministers of the Gospel ought frequently and stren- 
uously to insist on in their preaching. 

The nature and philosophy of this great work 
should be properly and carefully explained. An 
error on this point cannot fail to prove hurtful and 
ruinous to souls. 

The evidences of this change should be pointed 
out with clearness and discrimination. This can- 
not be done with too much perspicuity and pre- 
cision. If this is properly done, it will prove a 
character detecter and a position definer; the 
doing of which will be of vast utility in winning 
souls. 

The necessity of this change, also, ought to be 
made out by fair and sound arguments, and pressed 
upon the conscience by every consideration calcu- 
lated to give it effect. But that which is decidedly 
of the greatest importance, in preaching on this 
subject, is, a vigorous enforcement of the duty of 
immediate and unqualified submission to God. 
Sinners must give up all, and submit to God, or 
they cannot be saved. 

It is all perfectly right to use the appointed 
means for the attainment of this change of nature, 
or disposition of the mind ; such as hearing the 
preaching of the Gospel; reading the Bible, re- 
ligious books, pamphlets, and papers ; prayer and 
fasting, after the example of the Ninevites, etc. ; 
but then all this will be fruitless and unavailing 
without the exercise of repentance and faith, and 
the consecration of the whole man to God. Un- 



170 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

reserved submission and entire consecration is the 
measure of man's ability, and the requisition of 
God. This, therefore, must be faithfully explained 
and enforced by the preacher, or his toils and la- 
bors, comparatively at least, will be inefficient and 
vain. I have often heartily regretted that this 
sine qua non, in the efficiency of preaching, is so 
badly understood, and so badly managed on the 
part of many ministers. It is owing to this, more 
than anything else, that so many able and talented 
preachers have little or no fruits of their ministry. 
If they would copy the example of Peter and Paul, 
and all the primitive ministers of the Gospel, and 
command sinners immediately to repent and believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, instead of sending them 
to prayer-books and closets to pray, to the Bible, 
catechism, and other books, to read, and to the 
baptismal font and the Lord's table, to take upon 
them the vows of God, they would, doubtless, soon 
witness a different and a better state of things. 
God has wisely adapted means to the end. The 
Gospel is the appointed instrument for the conver- 
sion of sinners. This is both " quick and power- 
ful." It is like a fire, and as a hammer, saith the 
Lord. If sinners, therefore, are ever made to feel 
their obligations to God as they ought, it is more 
likely to be when the blazing, burning truth of 
God is held up before their minds than at any 
other time. And now, also, it is more reasonable 
and philosophical to expect them to yield and sub- 
mit their hearts than at any other time. If this 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 171 

point of doctrine, and this part of the sinner's duty , 
should again become generally understood, and 
universally insisted on by all the ministers of the 
Gospel, then, as in primitive times, conversions to 
God, under the preaching of the Word, will be no 
rare and uncommon thing. May the Lord of 
Hosts help all his servants, and especially the min- 
isters of the Church of God, fully to understand, 
and wisely to handle, this ail-important subject. 

3. From the subject we have had under consid- 
eration, we may infer that there are comparatively 
but few that will be saved. If, as we have heard, 
u men must be born of water and of the Spirit" 
in order to be saved, then we are not sure that any 
of the heathen will be saved. T say, we are not 
sure. We may think and fondlv hope they will ; 
but there is no certainty in the matter after all. 
On the supposition, then, that they cannot be saved 
without the Gospel, the greater part of mankind^ 
of course, will be excluded from the kingdom of 
God. But be this as it may, in Christian lands 
the one-half, or more, live and die without ever 
knowing what regeneration is. They mistake the 
nature of the work. Many of them are taught to 
mistake it. Others who are not mistaught, never- 
theless live and die ignorant and destitute of it. 
Make a simple calculation : 

Take an account of those that live in infidelity 
and unbelief, and that will not acknowledge or 
serve God at all ; 

Then compute the number of those that worship 



172 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

God in vain, because they do it in an idolatrous 
and superstitious manner, or because they rest in 
an outward appearance of religion, whilst they are 
strangers to the life and power of godliness ; such 
as take up a profession merely from education, or 
from external motives and inducements ; and who 
owe all their restraints from sin, and their prompt- 
ings to duty, to these human and natural influ- 
ences ; 

Add to these a list of such as are guilty of 
cursing and swearing, lying and forswearing, and 
of profaning the Lord's day. 

Tell over the number of those that are notorious 
for drunkenness, for gluttony, extravagance in 
dress and mirth, or for revenge and destructive 
passions, whereby they shorten their own lives, or 
take away the lives of others ; 

Set down all those that are infamous for adul- 
tery, or fornication, or other acts of uncleanness: 

Go on to those who thrive by unjust means, such 
as robbery, theft, gaming, frauds, slavery, and 
oppression ; 

Survey the crowd of those that are disobedient 
to parents, to masters, to rulers in church and 
state, and to God ; 

And when you have added all these together, 
contrast them with the number of those who are 
born again, and you will find their number com- 
paratively but very few indeed. 

4. If sinners are not regenerated and saved, it is 
not God's fault. God hath done far more to save 



NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 173 

the world, than the world either desired or de- 
served. He sent his servants the prophets, both 
late and early, who gave line upon line, and precept 
upon precept, for the instruction and salvation of 
the people. And when the fulness of time had 
come, he sent his only begotten Son into the 
world, not to condemn the world, but to save it- 
Christ, the Son of God, proclaimed the kingdom 
of heaven at hand, and showed the way of enter- 
ing into it. He established his divine mission by 
signs, and wonders, and divers miracles. He suf- 
fered and died, the just for the unjust, that they 
might be brought to God. He was buried and 
rose again on the morning of the third day for our 
justification. He commissioned his disciples to 
go into all the world and preach the Gospel to 
every creature ; commanding all men everywhere 
to repent and obey the Gospel, that they might 
not perish but have everlasting life. 

Now, if his orders are not obeyed, and his offers 
of salvation are not accepted, whose fault is it? 
Who is to blame? Surely not the Father of 
mercies and the God of all grace. He has done all 
things well. He has done all that he justly and 
with propriety could do, to save a guilty and 
ruined world. The same he is doing still. And 
hence, if sinners are not converted and saved, the 
fault is not in God. It is, and must be, their own 
fault, or the fault of their fellow-men. God can- 
not have the blame. He is justly and forever clear. 

5. Christians should cherish a lively sense of 
15 



174 NECESSITY OF REGENERATION. 

their obligations to God for regenerating grace. 
To be born again is a high, distinguished, and un- 
speakable mercy. 

It is to be delivered from sin, the greatest and 
worst of all evils. It is to be freed from the power 
of the wicked one. It is to be raised above the 
fears of death. It is to be saved from the curse of 
the law, and from an easeless and endless misery. 

And what is far better still — it is to be made a 
child and heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ 
of all things. It is to be made holy, and useful, 
and happy, here in this world, and in that which 
is to come. 

Surely, then, there is abundant cause for grat- 
itude and joy among the sons of God. If any 
people under heaven have cause to be thankful, it 
is that people who are regenerated and adopted 
into the favor and family of God, and whose names 
are written in heaven. 0, my brethren, laud and 
magnify the God of heaven with all your ransomed 
powers, for what he has done for you in the re- 
building of his image on your souls. Let your 
whole life be an unceasing song of praise to God. 
And with the devout aspirations of the poet sing 
and say : 

Had I ten thousand, thousand tongues, 

Not one should silent be ; 
Had I ten thousand, thousand hearts, 

I'd give them all to thee. 



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